The Batman was shot at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and frequently made headlines for having to pause production. That was to be expected all things considered, but the tabloids were quick to jump on the news that Robert Pattinson, for example, had somehow picked up the virus.
This level of scrutiny isn't unusual for a big budget blockbuster, of course, but the actor did send the internet into something of a frenzy when he admitted during an interview that, while in quarantine, he wasn't exactly hitting the gym each day. Immediately, some fans started worrying they might wind up with a "skinny" Dark Knight, but Pattinson set the record straight while talking to Movie Maker.
"That really came back to haunt me. I just always think it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out," the actor admits with a laugh. "I think it’s like an English thing. Unless you are in the most unbelievable shape, where people are just genuinely curious, going, ‘How have you achieved, like, physical perfection?’ or whatever."
"You’re playing Batman. You have to work out. I think I was doing the interview when I was in lockdown, as well, in England [and] was in a lower gear of working out. It’s the same thing as saying in an interview when I was like 21 that I didn’t wash my hair," he adds. "It just sticks for 15 years."
The trailers have made it clear that Pattinson definitely did get into fighting shape to bring this iteration of Bruce Wayne to life on screen, so these comments hopefully settle the matter. Admittedly, we've only seen a few glimmers of Batman fighting the crooks of Gotham City, but it appears he certainly looks like a force to be reckoned with.
The Batman is set to be released in theaters on March 4.