The Batman: Christian Bale Thinks Robert Pattinson Casting Is a Good Choice

Robert Pattinson as the new Batman gets a thumbs up from Christian Bale.

“Oh, good. Good choice, he’s interesting,” Bale told Variety during the Toronto International Film Festival, where Bale is promoting Ford v Ferrari. “I’m sure he’ll come up with something interesting.”

Added Bale’s co-star Matt Damon, referring to Good Time, “Did you see the Safdie brothers movie that he did? He’s fantastic. He’s really good.”

Asked if the Dark Knight star had any advice for Pattinson, who steps into the cape and cowl under director Matt Reeves, Bale said, “Oh, same as for Ben [Affleck]. Just be able to pee by yourself. You don’t feel much like a superhero when you can’t take a piss by yourself.”

Pattinson has already encountered troubles when stepping into a Batsuit for the first time: the star recalled needing a team of several people when getting suited during his final audition.

“It’s maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done in terms of movie stuff,” Pattinson earlier told Variety. “I put it on. I remember saying to Matt, ‘It does feel quite transformative!’ He was like, ‘I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit.’”

Despite the struggles familiar to both Bale and Affleck, Pattinson added the Batsuit makes you “feel very powerful immediately.”

“And it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating,” Pattinson admitted. “You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you’ve got it on, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.’”

Coincidentally, Pattinson — now filming Tenet under Dark Knight trilogy director Christopher Nolan — earned a word of advice from Bale’s Batman filmmaker.

“I was talking about things to do with the Batsuit, how to get more movements in it,” he told Variety. And on winning the role of the next Batman, Pattinson said, “I was absolutely relieved when Matt called. It’s so bizarre. I was like, ‘What a coincidence this is happening.’ It’s absolutely crazy.’”

The Batman opens June 25, 2021.