Matt Reeves Says Michael Giacchino’s The Batman Score Helped Robert Pattinson Become Batman

Michael Giacchino’s music for The Batman helped Robert Pattinson “become Batman,” according to director Matt Reeves. The score, which is now available to stream or download ahead of the March 4 opening of The Batman in theaters, features previously released themes for Pattinson’s Dark Knight and rogues Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and Riddler (Paul Dano). It marks the fifth collaboration between Reeves and the Academy Award-winning composer, who scored Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

“I love working with Michael Giacchino, he’s one of my favorite people,” Reeves said in a press release accompanying Friday’s soundtrack reveal. “So, when I got The Batman, I went to him knowing he has the same kind of love and connection to Batman that I do. He told me he wanted to do what we’d never been able to — to record before I ever shot a frame. He said, ‘I want us to record a suite, as if it was the unknown Beethoven Sonata of Batman that was found, and we use that to score the entire movie.’ I was excited about it, so he started writing while I was still writing, and he would send me little sample recordings of pieces he was doing on the piano.” 

The night before Pattinson’s first screen test in the cape and cowl, Reeves recalled, “Michael sent me this incredible suite which contained the Batman theme — he had put it together with an orchestra — and I was blown away! It was so emotional. I drove to the set, and [The Batman producer] Dylan Clark was there, and I said to him, ‘You have to get in the car.’ He sat in the passenger seat, and I turned up the music. The two of us literally cried. He, too, felt it was amazing.” 

“I just felt like this was a very special, fated day, because Robert was about to be in one of the classic Batsuits, we were going to shoot some scenes, and there we were listening to this perfect music,” Reeves said. “Suddenly you felt you were about to be part of film history that meant so much to you and meant so much to everyone. That music helped Robert Pattinson to become Batman, and we listened to that music all the time.” 

Giacchino’s credits as composer include Spider-Man: No Way Home, Disney-Pixar’s Up, LOST, Jurassic World, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Doctor Strange, and the upcoming Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. 

The Batman is an edgy, action-packed thriller that depicts Batman in his early years, struggling to balance rage with righteousness as he investigates a disturbing mystery that has terrorized Gotham. Robert Pattinson delivers a raw, intense portrayal of Batman as a disillusioned, desperate vigilante awakened by the realization that the anger consuming him makes him no better than the ruthless serial killer he’s hunting.

Starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as GCPD’s James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Colin Farrell as Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot, The Batman opens exclusively in theaters on March 4. Tickets are now on sale.