The Batman's Robert Pattinson Wore The Most Infamous Batsuit For His Screen Test
Screen tests for any actor can be terrifying, especially when it comes to the chance of playing an iconic superhero character. But for "The Batman" star Robert Pattison, his taped audition to play the Caped Crusader for writer-director Matt Reeve's 2022 film came with a bit more anxiety since he auditioned in the suit of a previous Batman that made the actor feel too confined.
"The first time I put on the Batsuit [for 'The Batman'], it was a huge relief, to be honest, because I'd done my original screen test in George Clooney's Batsuit [from 1997's 'Batman & Robin'], which was significantly too small for me," Pattinson told Entertainment Weekly in a 2022 video interview.
Reeves previously said it was Val Kilmer's Batsuit that Pattinson auditioned in, and, technically, he was right because Pattinson had all of the Batsuits from Warner Bros.' "Batman" films at his disposal. "You try on every single one ... and every single one still has the actors' kind of sweat inside," Pattinson told the eponymous host of ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2022, noting the costumes are all stored in a little cage in the Warner Bros. costume department. "I tried on all of them. "It's the size of your head that's the defining factor," Pattinson told Kimmel. "I think the body fit more on Val Kilmer's one and the head fit on Clooney's one — they kind of Frankenstein'ed it, but either one didn't really fit."
Pattinson says the Clooney Batsuit was 'boiling hot'
Robert Pattinson said that putting the Batsuit on for the audition was an enormous undertaking, especially given the state of the material decades after it was originally created. "You've got three, like, costume [workers] trying to squeeze your legs into this 30-year-old costume, which is just disintegrating as you're getting into it ... and then you're boiling hot," Pattison recalled for Kimmel. "This is even before I got the part. This is the screen test ... you're absolutely terrified."
In a transcribed interview originally featured on the Japanese site Eiga (via u/starshipandcoffee on Reddit), Pattison admitted he was uncertain of how he was going to perform once he was firmly inside Clooney's Batsuit. "It looks cool, but it feels like a nightmare. I can't move. I was sweating all the time, and I was scared that I couldn't do anything with this," Pattinson told Eiga with a laugh.
Luckily, Clooney didn't have to reclaim his Batsuit for his cameo appearance at the end of the 2023 DC superhero tale "The Flash," since his multiversal appearance in the film was only as Bruce Wayne, sans the costume.
Pattison felt his Batsuit 'really flowed'
Despite the restraints Robert Pattinson felt while wearing George Clooney's and Val Kilmer's Batsuits, the actor, of course, won the job of Bruce Wayne-Batman, for "The Batman." Better yet, Pattinson was fortunate enough to get a new, streamlined version of the Batsuit to wear for his new iteration of the time-honored character. "It just really flowed," Pattinson recalled for Entertainment Weekly. "It was so well designed, so articulated on all the joints."
Pattison isn't the first actor to wear a costume from a previous DC film for an audition. In 2017, fans got to see Henry Cavill wearing Christopher Reeve's Superman suit in a test photo released by "Man of Steel" director Zack Snyder. In addition, Christian Bale wore Val Kilmer's Batsuit for his "Batman Begins" audition for writer-director Christopher Nolan.
Pattison, meanwhile, will wear his more comfortable version of the Batsuit once again for "The Batman — Part II," which is currently slated for a 2025 release.