Back in February, the rumor mill started churning with news that Robert Pattinson (
The Lighthouse) was possibly a lead contender for the title role in Matt Reeves'
The Batman, and then in May, his casting was confirmed. Of course, the internet exploded.
Pattinson tells
Variety, “
When that thing leaked, I was f—ing furious. Everyone was so upset. Everyone was panicking from my team. I sort of thought that had blown up the whole thing.”
Luckily for the actor, he did ultimately manage to land the highly-coveted superhero role, so he can thankfully look back now and laugh at the entire ridiculous ordeal, which occurred months before he'd actually gotten an opportunity to audition in front of Reeves and Warner Bros - something he'd been trying to make happen for quite some time, possibly even his entire life.
After getting word that Reeves was working on a new Batman script centered on a younger Bruce Wayne, Pattinson immediately sought out a meeting with the director. “
I’d had Batman in my mind for a while. It’s such an absurd thing to say. I sort of had an idea to do it, and I’d been prodding Matt. He didn’t accept any prods. I kept asking to meet him.”
While Reeves didn't seem particularly keen on meeting with Pattinson, the
Rise of the Planet of the Apes director did eventually relent once he'd completed an early draft of the script, which, of course, remains top secret to this day. “
And then I had to kind of try to imagine what he’d written, and I hadn’t even read the script. I’d come with this pad full of notes.”
Pattinson chose to remain mum on that initial meeting, but it's probably safe to say it went relatively well considering all that's happened since. However, the casting story that broke in May did throw the former
Twilight star for a major loop. “
It was terrifying! I was like, ‘Oh f—! Does that screw me because they are so intent on secrecy?’"
It also appears that Variety's scoop did fast track the casting process just a bit, as Pattinson was sent new script pages during the Cannes Film Festival to read through in preparation for the final phase of his audition. "
I’m literally in Cannes in my hotel room [rehearsing]. The whole thing was a lot.” Then, following
The Lighthouse premiere at Cannes, Pattinson immediately got on a plane to jet back to Los Angeles to try on the Batsuit for the very first time. “
It’s maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done in terms of movie stuff.”
It's unclear which Batsuit he tried on, but the entire experience was quite transformative for the 33-year-old actor, “
I put it on. I remember saying to Matt, ‘It does feel quite transformative!’ He was like, ‘I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit.’” He adds, “
You do feel very powerful immediately. And it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating. You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you’ve got it on, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.’”
Pattinson does seemingly suggest that he already has somewhat of a grasp on a unique approach to the iconic character (“
You’re trying to think of the way to balance, how to bring something new to it and not want to scare people off"), but he's still working on getting accustomed to the costume.
Less than a week after that final audition, Pattinson learned he'd gotten the part, and actually got his life-changing news while on the set of Christopher Nolan's
Tenet. “
I was absolutely relieved when Matt called. It’s so bizarre. I was like, ‘What a coincidence this is happening. It’s absolutely crazy.” After getting the news, he found Nolan and began asking him everything and anything he could think of to help him prepare. “
I was talking about things to do with the Batsuit. How to get more movements in it.”
As for whether he's signed on for more than one standalone feature, Pattinson declined to comment. “
I don’t know anything. I’ve got an idea how to do about four scenes, and then I’m working on the rest gradually.”