Robert Pattinson might have been in the worst place possible when rumors of his casting in Matt Reeves’ The Batman went viral. The Lighthouse actor was on a plane going from Los Angeles to the Cannes Film Festival to promote his black-and-white fantasy-horror film. He was sitting next to Mission: Impossible writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (whom he’d never met) Googling himself, worried the leak would blow the opportunity to play the Dark Knight. Check out Pattinson’s words:
I hadn’t even done the audition. It’s just nerve-wracking because I was really excited about it and you think: really, is this how I’m going to lose this role? It’s the most annoying circumstances to lose something.
When the first reports of Robert Pattinson nabbing The Batman surfaced online, the Good Time actor hadn’t even auditioned for Bruce Wayne. He was preparing to read for the character, but all the talk was premature. When Pattinson landed, he entered long press lines where he was constantly being asked about the role. He continued to Time Out with:
Everyone was like: ‘Is that true, is that true?’ And it wasn’t true at the time, I hadn’t got the job. It was pretty terrifying.
Robert Pattinson was worried about backlash associated with his casting getting to the filmmakers behind the noir take on the Caped Crusader, and that he would lose out to another actor. And at first, there was certainly a ton of chatter. A petition was created to attempt to stop Warner Bros from casting the actor considering he is most well-known for starring in the Twilight films.
Robert Pattinson remembers being “fucking furious” about the leak. He and his team were panicking about it and worried it would affect the studio’s decision. All the while, Pattinson was practicing for the actual audition for The Batman in his hotel room while he was at the French festival.
Of course, it all worked out in the end and Matt Reeves was apparently confident enough in Robert Pattinson’s ability that he could ignore some initial backlash. Then again, just about every Batman actor has received some hate before donning the cape and cowl. Ironically, Pattinson was on the set of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet when he was told he’d won the gig.
Speaking of Tenet, Robert Pattinson recently recalled he was “literally” jobless before he scored his part in the Christopher Nolan movie. Now for two summers in a row, he’ll be starring in some of the biggest blockbusters. Matt Reeves’ The Batman just started filming this week with an impressive ensemble working alongside the actor.
The lineup includes Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Gil Colson and Colin Farrell as Penguin.
The Batman will be released in theaters on June 25.
