When Robert Pattinson was first announced to have been cast as The Batman‘s lead, the internet reacted in exactly the way everyone expected; namely, dredging up his past as a key part of The Twilight Saga almost a decade previously.
Of course, Ben Affleck went through exactly the same thing when he was announced as Zack Snyder’s Dark Knight, which was based on the indisputable evidence that he was in fact Ben Affleck, and always had been. He won over the doubters, and yesterday’s stunning trailer for The Batman indicated that Pattinson is destined to follow suit.
One aesthetic concern that some people had was the actor’s ability to bulk up, especially when Pattinson himself admitted he really couldn’t be bothered getting into superhero shape. He’s clearly put in a shift to get jacked regardless of his own apathy, though, and fans are now swooning over his buff Bruce Wayne.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed, but history has made it clear that a shirtless scene comes as a contractual obligation for anyone who signs on to headline a superhero blockbuster, so Pattinson would have known what he was getting himself in for from the second he put pen to paper on his deal for The Batman, and he’s inarguably put the work in.