Before Batman, Robert Pattinson could have been in a Marvel movie
The actor talks to Variety about his upcoming Batman role as well as he almost ended up in the MCU.
Before it was officially confirmed that Twilight actor Robert Pattinson would end up playing the famous Caped Crusader in director Matt Reeves' upcoming superhero film The Batman, rumors of his casting horrified the actor into thinking the angry fan buzz might ruin his chances.
"When that thing leaked, I was fucking furious," Pattinson told Variety for its September newsstand issue. "Everyone was so upset. Everyone was panicking from my team. I sort of thought that had blown up the whole thing."
At the time, Pattinson wasn't the only actor in the running to play the next Batman. Nicholas Hoult (Dark Phoenix) was also rumored to be on the short list for The Batman lead.
Luckily, Warner Bros. seemingly wasn't spooked by the premature publicity about Pattinson being up for the role, and the actor got the part for The Batman, which starts shooting this winter.
But way before Pattinson was auditioning for Batman, he put his hat in the ring for the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of DC Comics.
Pattinson revealed that he had an informational meeting with Marvel around the time Guardians of the Galaxy was casting, but in the end nothing came of it.
"The idea of trying that transition after Twilight, I never saw a road in that direction," Pattinson told Variety.
So, for now at least, Batman is the only comic book character Pattinson will be portraying on the big screen. "It's actually an interesting part," he said. "I think it's because he doesn't have any superpowers."
During his Batman audition, Pattinson tried on the iconic costume, which felt "quite transformative."
"Once you've got it on, it's like, 'Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs,'" the actor said.
The Batman hits theaters worldwide on June 25, 2021.
