Robert Pattinson Thought He Lost His Role After ‘The Batman’ Cast Leak: ‘It Was Terrifying’
Robert Pattinson took over the Batman cape and cowl from Ben Affleck, joining the Bruce Wayne actor pantheon with Adam West, George Clooney, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Val Kilmer. However, when The Batman cast leak revealed Robert Pattison as the new Bruce Wayne, he panicked. He worried that DC Comics might give him the ax due to their secretive nature.
‘The Batman’ cast leak revealed Robert Pattinson before he even auditioned for Bruce Wayne
Before he joined Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Pattinson went after director Matt Reeves the moment he heard about him writing The Batman script about Bruce Wayne’s early years.
“I’d had Batman in my mind for a while,” Pattinson told Variety. “It’s such an absurd thing to say. I sort of had an idea to do it, and I’d been prodding Matt. He didn’t accept any prods. I kept asking to meet him.”
After finishing the script, Reeves agreed to meet Pattinson in LA. However, as he landed in Cannes in May, news outlets pounced. Pattinson’s Dark Knight was revealed to the public before he had even auditioned, according to Variety.
“It was terrifying,” Pattinson said about The Batman cast leak. “I was like, ‘Oh f***! Does that screw me because [Warner Bros. is] so intent on secrecy?’ … The whole thing was a lot.”
Pattinson worried that he would never see the chance to wear his own Batsuit. Even remembering the time brought up intense feelings.
“When that thing leaked, I was f***ing furious,” Pattinson said. “Everyone was so upset. Everyone was panicking from my team. I sort of thought that had blown up the whole thing.”
The ‘Twilight’ actor could not stop Googling himself
Pattinson rushed online to scour the internet after The Batman cast leak. Had Warner Bros. commented on the situation? Were they cutting him out of the DC Comics role?
As the Twilight actor panic-searched, he became increasingly aware of Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie sitting nearby.
“I was sitting next to Christopher McQuarrie,” Pattinson recalled. “I’d never met him before. ‘Oh, God! He’d seen me Googling myself for the past hour!’” Pattinson tried to explain The Batman cast leak to McQuarrie.
“‘No worries,’ Variety reported McQuarrie saying with a nod. ‘I’d probably be doing the same thing.’”
However, Pattinson would go on to appear officially in The Batman trailer with Nirvana’s “Something in the Way” playing. In retrospect, the actor thought things would turn out much worse.
Robert Pattinson admitted that ‘The Batman’ cast leak did not turn out as bad as he expected
Pattinson’s fans similarly rushed online to make sure that Warner Bros did not remove him as Batman. However, fans were soon busy picking apart The Batman trailer for Easter Eggs.
“To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting,” Pattinson said.
Robert Pattinson expected a lot of backlash to the news of Warner Bros. casting a Twilight actor as Batman.
However, fans have reacted positively to the darker take on Bruce Wayne, and fans can’t wait to see Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, and more in The Batman.
