Matt Reeves’ The Batman is less than two weeks away from release, which means fans are even closer to seeing Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader, in his emo and eye-lined glory. The actor, a longtime fan of the DC Comics character and the past films, is essentially living out many fans’ dreams. This included donning the Batsuit to play the role of the iconic vigilante. It’s an imposing costume, to say the least and, apparently, at one point, Pattinson “scared” some people while sporting it.
The actor has had a lot to say about his experience wearing the superhero duds, and it sounds like it had its pros and cons. He once revealed that when he first put on the Batsuit, he felt “very powerful immediately.” Well, it seems that power came with an interesting side effect. The Twilight alum was recently asked to describe the moment he first truly felt like Batman, and he cited his initial screen test in the suit. Though he went on to say that people began to act oddly when he was walking around dressed as the Bat:
To be honest, it was on the camera test. It was the first time I had the full suit on, and people start kind of behaving differently around you. It has such a kind of totemic power, and the crew looked a little bit scared. It's really weird. If you don't say anything, you're standing there, you're just kind of... people get freaked out by it!
Based on Robert Pattinson’s comments to Fandango, it sounds like he really shook up the crew. It’s understandable, though, as the design Matt Reeves settled on for his version of the Dark Knight is as intimidating as it is impressive. I mean, a number of fans even got chills when the suit was first revealed in that video a few years ago. Needless to say, only a handful of us could actually stand alongside the costumed star and not get a little shaky. Yet I’m sure the crew eventually got comfortable as production pushed on. Though it’s hard to say if the same was true for Pattinson.
The 35-year-old star has explained that he screen tested in all of the classic Batman costumes, but the one that really stood out to him was George Clooney’s. When reflecting on it, the two things that came to mind were sweat and those divisive rubber nipples. After the initial fittings, he also had to find a way to navigate the challenges of wearing the cowl while performing. The Good Time star explained that there’s a different kind of body language that comes with the cool-looking headpiece.
There were other things he had to consider about the costume ahead of filming as well. Chief among them was how he’d use the restroom in the midst of work. This is something many of the former Batmen (and other actors who’ve played superheroes) have to deal with. Christian Bale seemed to have strong feelings about this because, when he encountered Robert Pattinson, he told him that the first thing he needed to do after getting cast was “figure out a way to pee.” Those may not be the first words of wisdom you’d expect to hear from a superhero movie veteran but, while telling the story, Pattinson said that he really took the advice to heart.
Challenges aside, you have to give the crew credit for designing a Batsuit that manages to stand apart from its cinematic predecessors. The trailers we’ve seen definitely indicate that Robert Pattinson is going to be somewhat scary when he appears on the big screen. And honestly, given that this is a Batman flick, that’s incredibly fitting for the character.
The Batman opens on March 4 and, after a 45-day theatrical window, the film will be available to stream on HBO Max. While you wait for its release read up on other 2022 movie releases, including the upcoming DC movies.
