It's been interesting over the last few months to see Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson step back into the celebrity spotlight after years away. She's taking on a major studio film in Charlie's Angels, while Pattinson is in one of the most high-profile roles any actor could ask for: Batman. In Pattinson's case, his return to huge franchise movie such as The Batman hasn't been easy, and in an interview with Variety he talks about some of the pains that came along with becoming the next Dark Knight.
Right off the bat, Pattinson shuts down any idea that he wasn't gunning for this role. In fact, he was openly "furious" when news he was on the Batman shortlist leaked early...
“When that [casting] thing leaked, I was fucking furious,” Pattinson said. “Everyone was so upset. Everyone was panicking from my team. I sort of thought that had blown up the whole thing.”
“I was sitting next to Christopher McQuarrie. I’d never met him before. Oh, God! He’d seen me Googling myself for the past hour!”
Fortunately, things all worked out, but what should've been good news was met by, what else, angry fanboys on the Internet. But it could've been worse, and Pattinson acknowledges that he thought the reaction would've been...
“To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting. It’s much more fun when you’re an underdog. There’s no expectation of you.”
Speaking of which, Pattinson was sortof the underdog to land the part. He says Batman was the superhero he'd been wanting to play, not anyone for Marvel, but overtures to director Matt Reeves weren't really going anywhere at first...
“It’s actually an interesting part,” he said. “I think it’s because he doesn’t have any superpowers.”
“I’d had Batman in my mind for a while,” Pattinson added. “It’s such an absurd thing to say. I sort of had an idea to do it, and I’d been prodding Matt. He didn’t accept any prods. I kept asking to meet him.”
As for those who worry he can't play Batman, Pattinson says he has tried on the costume and the experience was unlike anything he's faced, calling it "transformative." So maybe he'll transform into Batman and everyone will be happy?
“I put [the costume] on. I remember saying to Matt, ‘It does feel quite transformative!’ He was like, ‘I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit,’” said Pattinson.
He added, “You do feel very powerful immediately. And it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating. You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you’ve got it on, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.’”
I've been more skeptical than most about Pattinson's casting, but then I have NEVER liked anybody cast in the role until seeing them in action. So perhaps my mind will be changed. What about yours?
The Batman opens on June 21st 2021.
