Robert Pattinson starred as Bruce Wayne in the ‘Elseworld’ DC film The Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves, the film depicted the Caped Crusader in his early years as a crime fighter, who uncovers a huge conspiracy that involves Gotham’s powerful, including his own father. The film also starred Paul Dano and Zoe Kravitz.
While the vigilante has been portrayed by actors like Ben Affleck and Christian Bale, Pattinson’s Batman has to be his darkest depiction yet. It sees him at his most traumatized self as he figures out how to be a hero. The actor compared Bruce’s psyche in the film to that of the character in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Robert Pattinson Compares The Batman To One DCAU Film That Even The Dark Knight Could Not Emulate
While Ben Affleck’s depiction of Batman had its own fans, his presence in the DCEU was not as prominent to explore his version of Gotham and Bruce Wayne in detail. Before Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, it was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy that completely saw the growth of the character from a traumatized child to a hero.
However, there was one aspect of the character that according to Pattinson, no live-action film came close to achieving. The actor compared the psyche of Bruce Wayne in The Batman to the psychological trauma and mental punishment the character endures in the DCAU film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Often regarded as the best Batman story to ever be put on celluloid, Robert Pattinson mentioned to Premiere France (via Game Rant),
Batman is someone more… unstable. If you read between the lines, it’s actually very sad… In my opinion, the only other [film] to achieve this is the animated film Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm. When I saw it, it clicked: being Batman is a kind of curse, it’s a burden… I don’t think we’ve ever really seen that in a live film.
While Mask of the Phantasm sees the Caped Crusader on the cusp of retiring and starting a new life with a lover, The Batman sees him in his early days, still trying to punch his way out of injustice.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Was A Box Office Disaster
While many, including Robert Pattinson, have described the animated cult classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as one of the best Batman stories ever told, the film itself was reportedly a box office bomb. The film was reportedly first made for TV but was changed to a theatrical release midway through production.
While the team received creative freedom and a budget to work on the project, they were also placed in a tough schedule that required extra hours. Coupled with little to no marketing from the studio, the film only earned $5.6 million against a $6 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Mark Hamill, who played the Joker, spoke about opening day to THR,
We were living in New York at the time and I was so excited. We got to the theater and there were maybe 12 people! The people that were there were all die-hard fans of the animated series and they recognized me.
The actor mentioned that though he loved the film, he was disappointed with the reduced turnout. However, the film slowly gained more recognition through home video sales and became a cult classic.
The Batman is available to stream on Max while Batman: Mask of the Phantasm can be rented on Apple TV+.
