The Batman Is A "Totally Different Vibe" Compared To Earlier Films, Pattinson Says

DC's new film, The Batman, comes to theaters next month, and now star Robert Pattinson has shared a little more insight into what to expect from the superhero movie. Speaking to GQ, Pattinson said The Batman won't be an origin story for the Caped Crusader, so we won't have to see Bruce Wayne's parents get murdered again. However, Pattinson's Batman will be living with the grief of that experience.

"It's a totally different vibe. It's sad. It's a tragedy," Pattinson said. "Instead of him getting over his parents dying at the beginning, and then becoming Batman and saving Gotham, now he really hasn't gotten over them at all. And I'm playing [into] the parents' death constantly the whole time."

"I didn't realize how sad it would make me feel. There is something about his relationship with Selina Kyle [Zoe Kravitz] as well. It's very present in the graphic novels. There are ways to reinterpret that character. An infinite number of ways. This is the maybe 9th or 10th Batman movie and it does feel incredibly different," he added.

Against the advice of director Matt Reeves, Pattinson said he watched many of the earlier Batman movies to find out where there was a "gap" in terms of a side of Batman that hasn't been seen before on screen.

Pattinson said he was influenced by Christian Bale's Batman, and specifically his very low Batman voice. Pattinson said it was very difficult to do this, especially for longer periods of time. Pattinson said The Batman will be unique in that Batman has a lot of extended dialogue sequences. "Trying to stay really, really low and have nuance in the lines... it's really, really hard," he said.

Pattinson said he did so many vocal exercises that he strengthened his larynx. Because of this, it was a challenge to return to the studio to record automated dialogue replacement [ADR] because his voice had reverted back to normal.

Not only was it difficult to find his voice as Batman, but Pattinson said physically moving around in his Batsuit was challenging, which informed his performance. "As soon as you put on the suit, it sort of does something to you. You start behaving in this quite particular way," he said.

Finally, Pattinson discussed landing the role of Batman in the first place. He said it was a "no-hesitation yes" to sign on for the movie. Pattinson said his manager was surprised that he wanted the role because he believed Pattinson only wanted to play "total freaks." But Pattinson said Batman fits that description.

"You look for things that kind of scare you," Pattinson said. "You look for things that feel incredibly out of reach. It's the jewel in the crown of characters."

The Batman releases in theaters on March 4. In addition to Pattinson as Batman and Kravitz as Catwoman, the film features Andy Serkis as Alfred, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Paul Dano portrays The Riddler and Colin Farrell plays Penguin. The movie runs for nearly three hours.