Setting the tone with a slower, orchestral rendition of Nirvana’s Something in the Way, the first trailer for The Batman gave fans a preview of what to expect: a much darker, if not brutal, portrayal of the beloved DC character. With a teaser leading up to the thrilling moment when the music stops, Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight was supposed to be a Batman unlike any other. And it only got better from there.
While a lot of trailers continue the stale practice of turning a popular song into a dark cover, Kurt Cobain’s original song was fully embraced in The Batman trailer.
We had no idea Cobain would play such a significant role in The Batman. In addition to using Something in the Way to establish the mood for his film, director Matt Reeves modeled his Batman after the late musician. And that was his plan from the start.
The director based Pattinson’s Batman on the late Nirvana frontman, who was known for his grunge style and rebellious attitude. This is a far cry from Christian Bale’s portrayal of the caped crusader, which was more conventional and stoic.
Kurt Cobain’s Influence on Matt Reeves’ Vision of The Batman
Matt Reeves talked about the influence the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana had on the film’s development in an interview with Esquire, mentioning that Something in the Way was crucial to the project’s early development. The film’s co-producer and director, who also co-wrote the screenplay, cited Cobain’s battles with addiction as an especially important source of inspiration.
The song, he claimed, became “part of the voice of [Batman’s] character” and was included in the trailer for The Batman. Reeves added:
“When I considered, ‘How do you do Bruce Wayne in a way that hasn’t been seen before?’ I started thinking, ‘What if some tragedy happened and this guy becomes so reclusive, we don’t know what he’s doing? Is this guy some kind of wayward, reckless, drug addict?’ And the truth is that he is a kind of drug addict. His drug is his addiction to this drive for revenge. He’s like a Batman Kurt Cobain.”
Cobain gained widespread recognition as the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for the grunge band Nirvana. Notwithstanding Nirvana’s popularity, the late musician suffered from depression and drug addiction (see Telegraph).
Robert Pattinson, who struck Reeves with his performance in the 2017 crime thriller Good Time, was the man the latter turned to play his grunge version of Bruce Wayne. According to the director (via All The Right Movies):
“Kurt Cobain has a relationship with fame where being famous was not his goal. He loved music but the idea of being famous for music was a double-edged sword. That made me think of Robert Pattinson. I felt this rockstar vibe suited him. After all, he became a pop culture icon at a young age and had to carry that burden and extricate himself from it to become the actor he is today.”
In addition to Pattinson, the cast of The Batman consists of Andy Serkis, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, and Zoë Kravitz.
Batman (Robert Pattinson) versus Batman (Christian Bale)
The Batman leaves us wondering how Robert Pattinson’s batsuit and other gear were made. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, Twilight fame discussed incorporating a “do it yourself (DIY)” vibe into his version of the character.
“The suit does not make him invincible, it’s just a few panels of bulletproof armor.”
With the aforementioned remark, Pattinson hinted that Bruce probably made his Batman suit in the Batcave. Parallel to this, the actor used the batmobile to show off the imaginative side of his Batman:
“Even the Batmobile looks like something he’s built himself in his basement.”
This means that, in contrast to the character’s earlier big-screen incarnations, Pattinson’s Batman can be viewed as an inventor. Because of this, his Batman seems more grounded and realistic than Christian Bale’s Batman, even with his superior deductive skills and inventions.
In an interview with Variety, amidst the hype surrounding the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, Bale explained why he had not seen The Batman while praising Pattinson’s acting skills:
“I still haven’t seen it. I will see it. Listen, mate, it’s amazing how few films I see….Robert is an absolutely wonderful actor. We bumped into each other, talked a little bit about it ahead of time, and I heard wonderful things.”
With a $771 million box office receipt against a $185–200 million budget, the movie was a financial success and ranks seventh in 2022’s highest-grossing movies.
Max is currently streaming The Batman.
