Robert Pattinson pitched Bruce Wayne in pajamas during a costume meeting for The Batman. The English actor is set to become the next movie star to portray the DC superhero on the big screen in the film from director Matt Reeves. After experiencing pandemic-related production delays that caused filming to wrap more than a year after it started, The Batman is scheduled for theatrical release on March 4.
Set outside of Warner Bros.' DCEU continuity, Reeves' film centers on a Bruce Wayne in just his second year as his vigilante alter-ego, and much has been made of how the movie reinterprets the familiar character. On the superhero side, Pattinson has explained that Batman's no-kill rule has traditionally been interpreted as a desire for justice, but notes it could also reflect a strong desire to kill that he overcomes by sheer force of will. His Bruce Wayne is even more of a contrast from past interpretations, as the rich playboy reputation he usually has is replaced in The Batman with that of a reclusive loner.
In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Pattinson recalls being informed of this new take on Bruce Wayne, which Reeves was basing heavily on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. In the first few costume meetings for The Batman, the star suggested going really far with this association, putting the billionaire in a dressing gown and slippers to play up the grungy aesthetic. Ultimately, Pattinson reports, that worked about as well as fans might've expected:
One of the first things that Matt said to me is that... he's kind of inspired by Kurt Cobain, and I'm like, 'Really?' That's kind of the opposite of what I imagined Bruce Wayne to be. And it's funny, we had these kind of first costume meetings - I wanted to go, like, really, really, really Kurt Cobain, and kind of wanted to wear like a dressing gown and kind of fluffy, like, Bugs Bunny slippers for the first... [Laughs] He's like, kind of, really kind of grungy. And, uh, yeah, we tried that, it didn't work at all.
Seeing Bruce Wayne in bunny slippers would certainly have been jarring for Batman fans, and since Batman & Robin, filmmakers have learned that their target audience doesn't always take kindly to making the Dark Knight look silly. It sounds like that wouldn't have fit with the tone Reeves is going for with The Batman, however, as the director has referenced 1970s paranoia thrillers like The Conversation and Klute as primary sources of inspiration. Going from Bruce in PJs to a Riddler based on the real-life Zodiac Killer seems like it would've been quite the challenge.
While there were those who reacted negatively to Pattinson's casting as the Caped Crusader because of his famous role in the Twilight franchise, reminiscent of the backlash to both Michael Keaton's Batman and Heath Ledger's Joker before their films released, The Batman trailers have allayed those concerns. In the years since the Twilight series concluded, he has made a name for himself in independent, auteur-driven films as one of his generation's most exciting performers, and his return to franchise filmmaking has his fans eager to see his interpretation of Bruce Wayne. The Batman's release date is fast approaching, and, barring another COVID variant, audiences will soon see what Pattinson and Reeves have done with the beloved DC hero.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
