Some people seem genuinely mad at the prospect of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in The Batman being anything less than massively muscled, with anger that the actor isn't constantly working out for the role. In an interview with the British edition of GQ, Pattinson revealed the weird and wonderful ways he's been coping with lockdown over the past few weeks. The actor is currently stationed in London, where he was shooting The Batman with director Matt Reeves until the COVID-19 pandemic forced Warner Bros. to close production indefinitely. It's a truly bonkers interview which includes an extended bit where Pattinson tries to cook his new take on pasta using a microwave and a giant novelty lighter. That part is what caught most of the internet's attention due to how strange it was, but it's another revelation that has some Batman fans up in arms.

Pattinson reveals that, while Warner Bros. hired him a personal trainer and provided the actor with gym equipment so he can keep up his fitness for the role of Bruce Wayne, in reality, he has "barely done anything." For him, he said that the choice was about not getting fully ripped for the role because "if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem. You set a precedent. No one was doing this in the ’70s. Even James Dean - he wasn’t exactly ripped."

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Pattinson's not wrong either, but for some, this comment was considered an egregious error or sign of disrespect towards the role of Batman. YouTuber John Campea seemed particularly aggrieved that Pattinson isn't working out for The Batman as, in his opinion, he wasn’t taking his duties as Bruce Wayne seriously, and that he seemed above it all. Most criticisms of his comments – which, it should be noted, are in the context of a very strange interview where Pattinson’s sense of humor is, to put it bluntly, extremely weird – seem rooted in some very restricting notions of what Batman, and indeed men in cinema, should and must aspire to look like.

Robert Pattinson and Batmobile in The Batman

The masculine ideal of action cinema has typically leaned towards a larger frame jam-packed with clearly defined muscles. Batman himself has gotten noticeably bulkier over the decades, moving away from the leanness of Michael Keaton to the Crossfit-heavy grit of Ben Affleck. By the time viewers got to Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the DCEU and superhero cinema at large had seemingly agreed upon a Rob Liefeld level of musculature as the heroic prime. It didn’t seem to matter that such a physique made very little sense for someone who is supposed to be a fast-moving detective whose brand is inspired by a marsupial. Nor did anyone take into consideration how impossibly difficult it is not only to maintain such a form but that doing so does not fit or suit all men. Henry Cavill could pull it off, but Affleck looked weighed down by his own body, as if it was genuinely uncomfortable to be him.

It’s true that Batman’s body shape has changed throughout the decades in comics, and sometimes he is very bulky, but it’s been a while since fans have seen him sleeker and more in that sort of James Dean mold, so why not bring it back? Pattinson isn’t likely to be the sort of man who looks natural with 40-plus pounds of muscle packed onto him. It would be refreshing to see a lean Batman inspire a new generation of leading men who don’t have to have the bodies of Greek gods. Frankly, a lot of actors would love the opportunity to do such roles without having to commit to 18 months of chicken breasts and broccoli diets, complete with four hours in the gym every day. Audiences could use a new model of masculinity, and while a thinner but no less toned Batman is hardly a radical reinvention of the norm, it is a step in the right direction.

It’s also fair to just cut Pattinson some slack. Getting anything done during the current coronavirus lockdown is difficult and working out is especially tough for many stuck at home. It takes an incredibly rigorous regime and a massive team of trainers, chefs, and studio micromanaging for an actor to maintain the industry and societally-mandated physique that has been collectively decided as the “right one” for a superhero. By the time the lockdown is over, it’s not like Pattinson won’t have the time or means to get into the shape that The Batman producers want. It’s highly doubtful that he’s going to have the body of Adam West’s Batman. For now, maybe it’s best just to leave him in his hotel room with his pasta experiments.

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