Robert Pattinson might have been in the acting business since his teen years but he only found true fame when he starred as the sparkling, charming, blood-sucking Vampire Edward Cullen, in the Twilight movies. An overnight celebrity with millions of fans worldwide, it is only understandable that Pattinson left ‘big-budgeted’ movies soon after the supernatural franchise ended.
Such was his reputation that even Matt Reeves wasn’t sure that he would say yes to making his now acclaimed, The Batman. Although the decision was taken with the same tact as he had decided to step away from blockbusters, Pattinson did agree to star as the fan-favorite DC hero.
His portrayal is now heralded as one of the best takes on the character, but DC fans might riot after learning that his knowledge of the character was such, that he didn’t even know the best-known fact about the character.
Robert Pattinson Was Shockingly Unaware of Batman’s Most Iconic Trait Before Filming The Batman
In the vast realm of comic books, there are only a handful of characters who enjoy popularity as DC’s Batman does. From the world of comic books to its many cross-media adaptations, the Dark Knight is perhaps one of the best-known and most followed fictional and comic book characters across the world.
While most know the character to be a crime-fighting superhero dressed in an all-black ensemble, they also know that in the DC world, Batman is the world’s greatest detective as well! And this is a common fact that the beloved The Batman star, Robert Pattinson was unaware of. In a March 2022 cover story for GQ, the DC star came clean about his ignorance regarding the DC hero,
It was what Matt was saying from the first meeting I had with him: ‘I want to do a ’70s noir detective story, like The Conversation.’ And I kind of assumed that meant the mood board or something, the look of it. But from the first shot, it’s, Oh, this actually is a detective story. And I feel like an idiot, because I didn’t even know that Batman was ‘the world’s greatest detective’; I hadn’t heard that in my life before—but it really plays.
Fortunately, the actor was able to brush up his knowledge just in time. DC fans will certainly be shocked that Pattinson did not even know this basic fact about Batman, for his ignorance speaks volumes about his research for the character.
However, his initial lack of awareness of this key aspect can be easily overlooked, as he approached the character with a fresh perspective, unburdened by the expectations of someone already deep into the entrenched in Batman lore.
Robert Pattinson’s Unusual Approach to Playing Batman
Batman is one of the most adapted fictional characters of all time. Whether it is comic books or live-action/animated movies or series, the Dark Knight has several iterations and has pretty much been played in every way possible. So when Pattinson was cast as the iconic superhero, he knew he had to find a gap to set his character apart from the rest.
While talking to GQ, the Twilight star revealed that he did find a little interesting thread. He revealed that in other movies and versions, the character (the majority of the time) seems to make a comeback to Gotham, believing he can fix things this time. Yet, in Matt Reeves’ version of the tale, he is broken, and failing miserably in his attempt to make things right.
The people of Gotham think that he’s just another symptom of how shit everything is.
Remarked Pattinson and added how he kept trying to play into this fact of the character. Furthermore, instead of rationalizing Bruce Wayne’s past trauma, the actor tried to address it more head-on, taking the hard and long way.
All the other stories say the death of his parents is why Bruce becomes Batman, but I was trying to break that down in what I thought was a real way, instead of trying to rationalize it. He’s created this intricate construction for years and years and years, which has culminated in this Batman persona. But it’s not like a healthy thing that he’s done
Describing it as ‘almost like a drug’ addiction, Pattinson emphasized that his version is more of a fractured individual, clinging to his vigilante persona as a means of coping rather than a clear-cut hero with a noble mission.
Although he might have lacked a complete understanding of his hero, his unusual approach allowed him to explore Batman’s darker, and more obsessive tendencies, thus, making The Batman an unusual psychological thriller as well as a Dark Knight tale.
The Batman can be streamed on Netflix.
