Tom Hollandrecently revealed thathe got in troublefor callingSpider-Man: No Way Homea “brutal” movie, because the studio didn’t want fans thinking that it would be a downer. Well,Robert Pattinsonmight want to buckle up, because in a newGQprofile, he said that his upcoming filmThe Batmanis a “sad movie”, in which he plays two versions of the same “weirdo” dealing with trauma. Certainly not what you’d expect from a film predicted to break box office records when it lands in theaters next month.
Pattinson described what makesThe Batmandifferent from all the other times we’ve seen the superhero on the big screen — for starters, it isn’t another origin story, but wealready knew that. In directorMatt Reeves’ film, the character has been at it for two years already, and Pattinson revealed that things haven’t gotten better in Gotham City since Bruce Wayne put on the cape and cowl. In fact, to the average citizen, Batman is no different from the masked lunatics that he fights. In his own words:
“I’ve definitely found a little interesting thread. He doesn’t have a playboy persona at all, so he’s kind of a weirdo as Bruce and a weirdo as Batman, and I kept thinking there’s a more nihilistic slant to it. ’Cause, normally, in all the other movies, Bruce goes away, trains, and returns to Gotham believing in himself, thinking, I’m gonna change things here. But in this, it’s sort of implied that he’s had a bit of a breakdown. But this thing he’s doing, it’s not even working. Like, it’s two years into it, and the crime has gottenworsesince Bruce started being Batman. The people of Gotham think that he’s just another symptom of how shit everything is. There’s this scene where he’s beating everyone up on this train platform, and I just love that there’s a bit in the script where the guy he’s saving is also just like:Ahh! It’s worse!You’re either being mugged by some gang members, or a monster comes and, like, fucking beats everybody up! The guy has no idea that Batman’s come to save him. It just looks like thiswerewolf.”
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Diving into another scene, Pattinson said that there’s a moment in the film in which Bruce’s butler Alfred admonishes him for “tarnishing” the Wayne family name by playing dress-up in the dark. And Bruce replies, “Thisismy family legacy. If I don’t do this, then there’s nothing else for me.” Pattinson said that he’s always read that scene not as Bruce being purposeless, but almost as if Bruce has “checked out":
“I think that makes it a lot sadder. Like, it’s a sad movie. It’s kind of about him trying to find some element of hope, in himself, and not just the city. Normally, Bruce never questions his own ability; he questions the city’s ability to change. But I mean, it’s kind of such an insane thing to do: The only way I can live is to dress up as a bat.”
Psychologically, this sounds somewhat similar toMichael Keaton’s version of Batman, who, if you remember, was a lonely man who used to wait around every night for the slightest excuse to wear a costume and fight criminals. Pattinson said in the profile that he recently got a chance to watch a rough cut ofThe Batman, which had to have been over three hours long, because the theatrical cut itself istouching three hours. He said that the very first shot “is so jarring” because it’s unlike anything we’ve seen in a Batman film before. He also admitted that he was taken aback at thenoir intensityof the movie, and that he “felt like an idiot” because he’d never known that Batman is also called “the world’s greatest detective.”
The Batmanis expected to kick off a shared universe of projects. Two theatrical sequels are planned, and two streaming series are currently in the works at HBO Max—the first is a procedural set in the Gotham City Police Department, and the second is aScarface-like crime storyaboutColin Farrell’s Penguin.
Also starringZoe Kravitzas Selina Kyle/Catwoman,John Turturroas Carmine Falcone,Jeffrey Wrightas police commissioner James Gordon,Andy Serkisas Alfred Pennyworth andPaul Danoas Edward Nashton/The Riddler,The Batmanis slated to release on March 4.
