As the promotional campaign for the highly anticipated “The Batman” has officially kicked off, we’re learning more about the next incarnation of the DC Comics franchise led by Robert Pattinson (“Good Time”). First off, now we know it’s nearly three hours long, a hugely bold choice, and it seems director Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield,” “Dawn of The Planet of The Apes”) grim and gritty crime thriller angle is being taken to the extreme in this new incarnation of the caped crusader.
The first clip from the film has come online (see below), focusing on Pattinson as Bruce Wayne during a funeral that is literally crashed by The Riddler, highlighting the deadly game the villain is playing with Batman and the Gotham police department throughout the film.
READ MORE: Matt Reeves Wrote ‘The Batman’ With Robert Pattinson In Mind For The Hero
Paul Dano (“Prisoners,” “There Will Be Blood”) is exploring a chilling version of The Riddler. The menacing villain in the new movie has far more in common with the notorious Zodiac killer, a very real serial killer that terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, than Jim Carrey’s campy take from “Batman Forever.”
We’re also getting to know Pattinson a bit better and that he has a sense of humor that might not translate very well in press interviews. During production more than a year ago, Pattinson spoke with GQ where he downplayed his workout routine, which led to multiple fan meltdowns thinking he wasn’t taking the superhero role as seriously as his predecessors, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.
While chatting recently with Movie Maker the British actor clarified he was, in fact, joking similarly to when he told interviewers he didn’t wash his hair on the promotional tour of the “Twilight” movies.
READ MORE: ‘The Batman’: Matt Reeves’ Film Starring Robert Pattison Is Almost 3 Hours Long
Pattinson told Movie Maker, “That really came back to haunt me. I just always think it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out. I think it’s like an English thing. Unless you are in the most unbelievable shape, where people are just genuinely curious, going, ‘How have you achieved, like, physical perfection?’ or whatever.”
“You’re playing Batman. You have to work out. I think I was doing the interview when I was in lockdown, as well, in England. … I was in a lower gear of working out,” the actor further explained.
It’ll be interesting to see if Pattinson attempts more cheekiness during the press junket in the coming weeks that creates more faux drama within the fan community, or if he’s just learned his lesson on that end.
“Warner Bros will release “The Batman” in theaters on March 4. Watch the first clip below.