Fans first caught a glimpse of the Twilight actor’s brooding take on the comic book character in an August 2020 teaser for the superhero film which was written and directed by Matt Reeves. In the nearly three-minute clip, Pattinson’s young Bruce Wayne is a total emo kid who dons smudged black eyeliner and listens to Nirvana while seeking revenge for the loss of his parents.

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?” a man asks. After beating him up, Pattinson’s Batman responds, “I’m vengeance.”

The Lighthouse star is the twelfth actor to play the Caped Crusader since Lewis Wilson first donned the suit for 1943’s Batman. The star-studded list of former Batmen include Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Val Kilmer, Ben Affleck and The Dark Knight’s Christian Bale. However, Pattinson hoped to put a new spin on Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.

“Batman’s not a hero,” he told The New York Times in October 2019. “He’s a complicated character. I don’t think I could ever play a real hero — there’s always got to be something a little bit wrong. I think it’s because one of my eyes is smaller than the other one.”

After Pattinson’s casting was made official in May 2019, fans expressed their concerns that the British actor wasn’t right for the role, but that criticism never concerned him much. “To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting,” he told Variety in September 2019 in regards to the online hate. “It’s much more fun when you’re an underdog. There’s no expectation of you.”

Comic book fans might disagree with the Good Time star, since there is always a little expectation and a lot of excitement for a new Batman movie. Like his star, Reeves wanted to do something a little different for his take on the Defender of Gotham City. He wanted to leave theatergoers in tears.

“I felt that we’ve seen lots of origin stories,” the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director explained in a 2021 featurette for The Batman, explaining why he wanted to tackle a story that featured a young Bruce Wayne, before he really became the superhero fans know.

Reeves added, “You can have it be very practical. But I also thought it could be the most emotional Batman movie ever made.”

Keep scrolling to read everything there is to know about The Batman: