Robert Pattinson is having a 2019 to remember. He starred in two of the year’s most critically-acclaimed films, High Life and The Lighthouse; he had a bad haircut, but not the worst haircut (sorry, Timmy) in The King; and he was selected to play the Dark Knight in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. As part of his training, Pattinson has been spotted at the gym with instructor Rigan Machado, an 8th degree red and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the same guy who got Keanu Reeves prepared for John Wick.
As reported by Men’s Health, “Machado just posted a photo to Instagram in which he is demonstrating a move to Pattinson, with the caption Batman is coming’… which suggests Pattinson’s Batman will have a gritty, realistic fighting style.” The photo has since been deleted after Warner Bros. presumably threatened to send a team of lawyers after Machado, like all the Agent Smiths coming after Neo in The Matrix Reloaded.
Rigan Machado’s charmingly old-school website refers to him as a “living legend in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu” and perhaps “the greatest grappler to ever walk the face of the planet.” Working with the World’s Greatest Detective is a natural fit.
The Batman is scheduled to come out on June 25, 2021.
