Perhaps the most controversial thing about Robert Pattinson’s casting in Matt Reeves’ The Batman is exactly now little controversy was to be found in the announcement. Even Pattinson was quite surprised to not see much backlash. Yet given that he’s a decade removed from playing a sparkly vampire in The Twilight Saga, perhaps no one should be surprised at all? He’s quietly spent several years building up character acting and indie cred in movies like The Lost City of Z, Cosmopolis, and Good Time (not to mention The Lighthouse, soon to be in theaters), so he’s earned a shot at The Cowl.
Well, former Batman Christian Bale (who came to the role long after Newsies, after all) believes that Pattinson’s the man for the job. While speaking to Variety, Bale described the ex-Edward Cullen as “[a g]ood choice! He’s interesting.” Bale also expressed his respect for Pattinson’s Good Time performance and then got down to the essential business of doling out Batsuit survival advice. “[J]ust be able to pee by yourself,” he offered. “You don’t feel like a superhero when you aren’t able to piss by yourself.”
Bale admitted that he also made this suggestion to Ben Affleck prior to his assuming of the Batmobile position, although there’s no word on whether Affleck ignored said advice, and that information would tell us a lot. Again, Bale’s telling us nothing new here in terms of male actors telling the world about costuming unpleasantries. Ryan Reynolds even told everyone that he could actually “taste my own genitals” while wearing his red body condom. That’s why they get paid the big bucks.
Both Bale and Pattinson were on hand at TIFF this weekend with the former promoting Ford v. Ferrari (in which he stars with Matt Damon as racing legends Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, respectively) and the latter attending for The Lighthouse. Pattinson’s earning excellent reviews for that film, but we won’t know much more about how he fares in The Batman until we approach its June 2021 release date.
