Robert Pattinson has said creating the classic character of Bruce Wayne in the highly anticipated film The Batman was “by far the hardest thing” he has ever done.
The 35-year-old actor will take over from Ben Affleck as a darker, vengeful Batman alongside Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman and main villain the Riddler, played by Paul Dano.
The forthcoming superhero reboot continued its production during the pandemic, which Pattinson revealed he was grateful for as it provided him with stability and something to focus on during this turbulent time.
Vengeance equals justice for both the Bat and the Cat. Watch the new trailer for The Batman now. Only in theaters March 4. #TheBatman pic.twitter.com/2WOHg74jbP
— The Batman (@TheBatman) December 27, 2021
Speaking to GQ magazine, he said: “I just always had this anchor of Batman. Rather than thinking you’re flotsam to the news, you could feel engaged without being paralysed by it.
“Everyone I know, if you had a little momentum going in your career or your life, then stopping, you had to have a reckoning with yourself.
“Whereas I was so incredibly busy the whole time, doing something that was also super high pressure, by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done…. I was still playing Batman at the end of the day, even though the world might end.”
Pattinson explained that the set, which was located on the outskirts of London, became a “bubble within a bubble” that disconnected him from the outside world at times.
He added: “The nature of the shoot was so kind of insular, always shooting at night, just really dark all the time, and I felt very much alone.
“Even just being in the suit all the time.
“You’re not really allowed out of the studio with the suit on, so I barely knew what was going on at all outside.”
The actor admitted that the role had been physically demanded and said he would look “really dead” after shooting for hours in the dark.
After facing continuous delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the highly anticipated film is due in cinemas on March 4.
Trailers for the film have teased the director Matt Reeves’s darker adaptation of the superhero as Batman can be seen in violent fight scenes, high-speed car chases and dramatic explosions as he navigates Gotham City and the rise of his rivals.
Pattinson revealed that the first shot of the upcoming film was “so jarring” and a “totally different pace” from any other Batman movie he had seen previously.
He explained that Reeves’s vision was to do a 1970s noir detective story and noted that style was evident from the beginning of the film’s first cut.
The actor is now turning his attention to behind the camera after setting up a production deal at Warner Bros.
Pattinson described himself as a “terrible writer” but said he found moulding projects “really satisfying”.
The March issue of British GQ is available via digital download and on newsstands on March 1.