UPDATED: 12 Jan 2022
Two promo images now untagged and in UHQ. You’re welcome!
Update 23 Dec 2021
Empire has shared another new promotional image featuring Rob and Zoe Kravitz – am loving these daily treats
19 Dec 2021
Empire Magazine has shared two new photos of Rob as The Batman and Bruce Wayne and has provided this insight and excerpt from their interview with Matt Reeves:
When the very first trailer for The Batman arrived in August 2020, it came with a surprising bit of soundtracking – an orchestral, trailer-music-ified version of ‘Something In The Way’ by Nirvana. Sometimes such song choices are a case of just finding the right mood, or a specific connection with the lyrics – but in the case of Matt Reeves’ new take on DC’s Caped Crusader, there was a much more specific reason behind it. It’s a tune that got right to the heart of the filmmaker’s vision for the character – one that proved pivotal in shaping Robert Pattinson’s take on Bruce Wayne, the rich orphan who dons the cowl and shakes down Gotham’s criminal underworld.
“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’,†Reeves tells Empire in the upcoming The Batman issue. It’s a song that promises a very different take to recent big-screen Bats, from Christian Bale to Ben Affleck – one inspired by a ‘90s grunge icon. “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalised version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.â€
The ideal actor for the job? Pattinson, whose astonishing performance in the Safdie Brothers’ Good Time had caught Reeves’ attention. “In that movie you could really feel his vulnerability and desperation, but you could also feel his power,†the director explains. “I thought that was a great mix. He’s also got that Kurt Cobain thing, where he looks like a rock star, but you also feel like he could be a recluse.â€
It’s not just a different vision of Bruce Wayne – that means a different Batman too, one with fewer of the flashy gadgets afforded by Lucius Fox (who doesn’t appear here) in the Nolan trilogy, and a more home-spun, self-constructed edge. “Bruce has been hiding away,†says Pattinson. “He’s not really a socialite at all. He’s building all these little contraptions and things, just with Alfred. And even Alfred thinks he’s gone insane!â€
It’s a difference you’ll see in the Batsuit, which looks like it’s been through the wringer. “He’s been out every single night for two years, getting beaten up and shot and stabbed and burnt, and it shows,†the actor explains. “There’s a bullet graze on the cowl, right at the beginning. I don’t think that’s been done before.â€
Reeves talks about Kurt Cobain… well, obviously I have heard of Nirvana and Cobain, though never paid real attention to them before today (but I am into hard rock, the Led Zeppelin kind, so not that ignorant). Now I am combing through the Internet for Kurt Cobain, listening to his music and interviews. And, have you seen him? Wow, what a beautiful man! Like all true artists, he sounds idealistic, sensitive, and may be tormented that the real world is too much to take.
and the good die young. I feel that especially about the Doors man, Jim Morrison. Why?
To answer my own question, the common theme at least as I see it among the Americans who sprung to sudden fame and wealth seem to have had very dysfunctional families and troubled childhood. I think that is where RP's story differs. For him to stay grounded and sane especially during Twilight years, his very normal middle class family must have helped greatly.
Jim Morrison was ahead of his time.
They were all poets in those days. My husband was commenting to that effect couple of days ago. Something about being native English speakers, too. You don't find the same thing with ABBA, for example.
As a side note, I seem to remember a time long, long ago when Courtney Love rubbished the idea of Rob playing Kurt Cobain in some biopic. Kinda funny to read Reeves' comments all these years later. You just never know what the future holds. Always interesting to hear from the directors about their visions for characters – I'm so glad Reeves has taken this direction for Bruce Wayne.
That's a great memory Sue and she did think it was ridiculous for Rob to play Kurt. Funnily enough she ended up dating one of Rob's good friends, Nicholas Jarecki. Pretty sure she's eating her words now.