Robert Pattinson has blamed the lukewarm reception to his superhero body in The Batman on comments he made in interviews while promoting the film.
The Batman: Part II will see Pattinson reprise his role as the Caped Crusader when it hits theaters on October 1, 2027 — five-and-a-half years after the first movie came out. Pattinson was a somewhat surprising choice as Batman, and there was much talk about how imposing the typically lean star of The Twilight saga would be, especially following the bulked up Ben Affleck’s portrayal in Zack Snyder’s defunct DC Extended Universe.
In an article in GQ, Pattinson said he worked out twice a day for The Batman, sometimes early in the morning, but he still faced criticism from some fans.
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After Batman came out, fans said: “‘You didn’t work out at all.’ I worked out every f***ing day,” Pattinson insisted. “Even after that, I still look like I didn’t work out. I worked out twice a day at, like, three o’clock in the morning.”
Pattinson blamed the fan complaints on interviews in which he said exercise was uncool, which caused some to think he wasn’t taking the role seriously. “I’m like, it’s just because I said it in an interview,” he explained. “I was trying to sound cool!”
Back in May 2020, Pattinson said self-isolation during the pandemic had affected his workout regime. He told GQ at the time that when it came to his physical fitness preparation for The Batman, “I’m just barely doing anything.” In contrast, Pattinson said his co-star Zoë Kravitz was exercising five days a week to prepare for her role as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). Pattinson jokingly went on to tell GQ that back in his Twilight days, “the one time they told me to take my shirt off, I think they told me to put it back on again.”
Pattinson has a home gym he’s using to train for The Batman: Part II, so perhaps his workout regime will be different this time.
While Pattinson is Batman in director Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, dubbed The Batman Epic Crime Saga, he will not play Batman in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe. Fans will have to wait for The Brave and the Bold to see Gunn’s Batman, but Episode 6 of DCU canon kickstarter Creature Commandos showed Batman in animated form, standing on a rooftop looking down at crime boss Doctor Phosphorus. The image below revealed a mega-stacked Caped Crusader in his iconic costume, but there was little else that could be discerned about Gunn’s take on the superhero.
Batman in Creature Commandos. Image credit: HBO Max.
Based on comments Gunn issued to Rotten Tomatoes TV following the release of Episode 6, it’s easy to see why this brief look at Batman was so generic. Gunn said he asked for “more silhouette” after the original Batman on show was more detailed than he was ready to commit to at the time.
What this look at Batman did provide fans with, Gunn explained, was a clear indication that Batman not only already exists within the DCU during the events we’re seeing in Creature Commandos and this July’s Superman movie, but that he is well-known within the universe, and that’s why there’s no need to tell his well-documented origin story.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
