Robert Pattinson Reveals What Makes His Batman Unique

When it comes to iconic roles that more than one person has handled, it goes without saying that the top priority is to put a new twist on what's come before. Robert Pattinson is following in the footsteps of notable live-action iterations of the Caped Crusader with his upcoming appearance in "The Batman," and it makes sense why bringing a different shade of dark to the Dark Knight is a top priority.

In director Matt Reeves' upcoming film, we meet Bruce Wayne two years into his role as Gotham's lone protector and the impact it's having on the city's most well-known billionaire. He's not as fresh as Christian Bale's take in "Batman Begins" but nowhere near as done in by his experiences in the cape and cowl as Ben Affleck's vigilante in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Instead, this point in time has allowed Pattinson to give us a version of the character we've never seen before and the mental strain of his fight for justice in an unjust city.

In a recent interview with GQ, the Bat-to-be revealed what kind of character (or characters) we're going to get from him in the upcoming adaptation, and it's one that's drastically different from what we've seen before. "He doesn't have a playboy persona at all, so he's kind of a weirdo as Bruce and a weirdo as Batman, and I kept thinking there's a more nihilistic slant to it," Robert Pattinson explained, looking to the journeys other iterations of the Bat have gone on in the past. "'Cause, normally, in all the other movies, Bruce goes away, trains, and returns to Gotham believing in himself, thinking, 'I'm gonna change things here.' But in this, it's sort of implied that he's had a bit of a breakdown. But this thing he's doing, it's not even working."

Given the seemingly dark trail his Bruce Wayne is going to head down, it begs the question if there will be any familiar turns and strolls through the iconic alleys that make DC Comics' world-famous hero the one we know him to be. While "The Batman" may not necessarily focus on the origin of Bruce Wayne taking up the mantle of the Bat, will there be any mention of the turning point that led him to do so?

One core element that fans have often joked about with the repeated takes on Batman is the death of his parents, and we've seen two pearl necklaces fall apart with the last two takes of the Caped Crusader. Thankfully, Robert Pattinson sounds aware of what's come before and is bringing a very real way of thinking of its impact on his character.

"All the other stories say the death of his parents is why Bruce becomes Batman, but I was trying to break that down in what I thought was a real way, instead of trying to rationalize it," Pattinson said. "He's created this intricate construction for years and years and years, which has culminated in this Batman persona. But it's not like a healthy thing that he's done." While it may be speaking too soon, it seems that Matt Reeves' new film and Pattinson's view on the character will really delve into the psychology of this lone hero where others haven't necessarily ventured as far. We'll see how he handles the heroic role when "The Batman" descends into theaters on March 4.