Former Twilight star Robert Pattinson has just signed up to play one of the most iconic superheroes in the world. Or has he? Yes, the British actor will be the latest person to don the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but according to Pattinson, Batman shouldn’t really be counted as a superhero in the first place.
In a new interview with TODAY, host Felix Geist asked him about what was going through his head when he accepted the part of Bruce Wayne for Warner Bros.’ next big Bat-blockbuster. Specifically, he questioned whether Pattinson had dreams of playing a superhero. At this, the actor cut in with his belief that the character “doesn’t count” as one due to his lack of superpowers.
“Batman’s not a superhero. It doesn’t count. You need to have, like, magical powers to be a superhero.”
Pattinson has previously discussed this viewpoint before. When speaking with The New York Times about why he wanted to play the part, he described there being “something a little bit wrong” with the Dark Knight and that he doesn’t think he would be interested in portraying “a real hero.” He also noted that “his morality is a little bit off.”
Obviously, comic book fans will likely be slightly aggrieved at Pattinson’s narrow definition of a superhero. So will MCU fans, come to think of it, as half of the founding members of the Avengers don’t have powers, either. However, it’s clear from the star’s comments to NYT that thinking of Batman as something other than a superhero helps him get into the character’s mindset from an acting perspective.
Pattinson will be joined in The Batman by a host of talent like Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Paul Dano (Riddler) and Jeffrey Wright (Commissioner Gordon). It shoots in early 2020 before arriving in cinemas in June 2021. No doubt it’ll be one of the most-anticipated superhero – er, non-superhero movies of the year, too, so it’ll be fascinating to see how Robert fares in the role.