Robert Pattinson Confirms Batman Is a “Weirdo” in ‘The Batman’

Robert Pattinson is coming to our screens as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film The Batman on March 4, and while we’ve seen Bruce Wayne at the movies time and time again, there’s something about this version of the Dark Knight that has me excited. Maybe because Pattinson finally called him a weirdo?

In a new interview with GQ, Pattinson broke down his role in The Batman and what it all means for Bruce Wayne/Batman. “He’s kind of a weirdo as Bruce and a weirdo as Batman. 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,” Pattinson said. “Like, it’s two years into it, and the crime has gotten worse since Bruce started being Batman. The people of Gotham think that he’s just another symptom of how shit everything is.”

Worried that a Batman story might actually be fun? Well, according to Pattinson, the movie is still sad: “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.’”

Weirdo Bruce

Well of course he’s a weirdo. Dude dresses up like a bat to fight crime.

But what I like about Pattinson’s comments is that he’s talking about how Bruce is clearly struggling and that the movie highlights that. For so much of Batman’s legacy onscreen, we’ve seen him as this strong man who just wants to fix Gotham, but the reality is that Bruce Wayne is a man who has suffered a great deal of trauma and buried himself in his crime-fighting persona instead of dealing with it.

The Batman bringing a struggling Bruce to life is exciting, and I can’t wait to see what his mindset is when he actually has to break down why he chose to dress up like a bat and fight crime on his own in Gotham.

Alfred and Bruce

When it comes to relationships that mean a lot to Bruce, his connection to Alfred is pretty high up there, and Alfred often lets Bruce get away with being a “weirdo” in an attempt to try to help him. Throughout his life, he only really had Alfred to turn to after his parents died, and what is interesting about all this is that, apparently, The Batman focuses a bit on Alfred trying to stop Bruce from fully losing himself in Batman.

According to CBR, a new interview with Total Film had Andy Serkis talking about the relationship between Bruce and Alfred. Serkis noted that his Alfred could tell that Bruce was heading towards trouble and went on to say “[Alfred’s] watching, and he’s still trying to hold onto [Bruce], to try to stop him from disappearing down a rabbit hole at this point. I think he believes that he’s dangerous to himself, and it isn’t particularly well-formed as an idea.”

The Batman has a lot to take on. From its wealth of villains to exploring Bruce’s mental state, there’s a lot to look at, and I think that Reeves is going to bring us our best look into Batman yet.

(image: Warner Bros.)