The Batman: Robert Pattinson's Reluctance to Play a Superhero Revealed in Resurfaced Interview

In this glorious age of digital media, nothing that one says in public is ever truly forgotten. Such is the case with Robert Pattinson, who has just been announced as the next live-action Batman in The Batman, Matt Reeves upcoming Batman movie trilogy for Warner Bros.

Sure, Pattinson may be jumping into the role of Batman now - but years back he was openly hesitant about getting into the superhero movie genre. The old interview of Pattinson expressing his skepticism about playing a superhero has now resurfaced, and is quickly adding fuel to the collective fire of "RBats" haters, everywhere!

Here's what Pattinson said to Howard Stern in a 2017 interview, when asked if he'd ever considered a major superhero movie role:

"Not a superhero no - I've never actually auditioned for one. For one thing, you have to sign up to do eight movies, and I just got out of five, so it was like eight is just a lot... It all depends on the character, but that definitely kind of made me a little hesitant before. Because when you're just an individual you have to really commit to like working within a huge machine."

I mean, he's not wrong, right? If there's any actor who knows what can happen when you inadvertently fall into the "huge machine" of franchise filmmaking, it's definitely Pattinson. In fact, the next part of his interview with Stern actually recounts how he first took on his Twilight role in order to explore a small-budget genre film with an indie director (Catherine Hardwicke). Of course, once the film blew up and became a worldwide phenomenon, Pattinson was locked into a franchise commitment that was much bigger and more intensive than he ever planned. He definitely had his fair share of struggles adjusting to that new reality - and the stigma he earned from Twilight (rightfully or not) has continued to follow him into this Batman casting.

Again: Pattinson's logic wasn't exactly off the mark, and seems downright prophetic, given where DC Films and the Batman franchise was, circa 2017. While Pattinson was spending that trying to rebuild acclaim for his actual skill as an actor (Good Time, Lost City of Z), Ben Affleck was filling out the Batman suit, and getting chewed up and spit out by the back-to-back failures of Batman v Superman and Justice League. Hopefully, Pattinson sat down and really made sure the foundation under Matt Reeves' Batman trilogy is rock solid - and that this "machine" is ready to roll.

Shazam is now in theaters, Joker hits theaters on October 4th, Birds of Preyon February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, and The Batman on June 25, 2021.