Having played a sparkly vampire in The Twilight Saga a decade ago, it was inevitable there would be backlash from certain corners of the internet when Robert Pattinson was first announced to be leading Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Let’s not forget that Michael Keaton’s hiring saw Warner Bros. headquarters inundated with tens of thousands of angry letters protesting the decision to have the Dark Knight brought to life by the guy from Beetlejuice, while Ben Affleck suffered something similar due to his years spent as prime tabloid fodder.
In a deliciously ironic twist of fate, we’re getting all three of those actors suiting up and reporting for duty as the Caped Crusader between now and November, and fans couldn’t be more excited about it. Pattinson didn’t jump out as the obvious candidate to play the costumed crimefighter, but everything we’ve seen from The Batman makes it look as though he’s poised to knock it out the park.
In fact, he’s become so infatuated by the role that he admitted to Eiga (translated from Japanese to English via Redditor starshipandcoffee), that he wants to be Batman all the time.
“I don’t even know what Batman is, but I want to be Batman all the time. I think it’s something instinctual and addicting to him, so now. I had a very different impression. I felt a deep sorrow that was not as heroic as the Batman that had been drawn so far, with a greater sense of loss there. Many tragedy in Bruce Wayne’s story. But in this work, it’s a tragic character in many ways, and I think he really has to find himself. “
He probably won’t be going out shopping dressed head-to-toe as an armored mammal, but you give what he’s aiming at, with Pattinson having immersed himself so deeply into the character that he’s not ready to give it up.