The Robert Pattinson Movie That Changed How Matt Reeves Wrote The Batman

Matt Reeves, the writer and director of "The Batman," has a history of making big-budget movies that manage to be more than popcorn fare. Audiences would have been happy enough to see monkeys with machine guns in his "Planet of the Apes" trilogy, but Reeves elevated the material by drawing inspiration from the likes of "Lawrence of Arabia" and the work of Akira Kurosawa. Now, he seems poised to do something similar with his take on the caped crusader.

One of the most interesting choices Reeves made early on was to cast Robert Pattinson in the lead role of Bruce Wayne. This iteration of the Dark Knight will see him face off against The Riddler (Paul Dano) in what may be Batman's greatest challenge yet, so Reeves needed a lead who could bring the kind of intensity necessary to make the movie work. While Pattinson made a name for himself starring as vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight Saga," the actor has had a variety of interesting roles since. Reeves recently revealed that he began writing "The Batman" with Pattinson in mind nearly from the beginning after seeing the actor in one of his lesser-known films.

In an interview with Tara Hitchcock to promote "The Batman," director Matt Reeves said he was inspired to write the role of Bruce Wayne with Robert Pattinson in mind after watching the movie "Good Time." Created by sibling directorial duo Josh and Benny Safdie, who would later see mainstream success with "Uncut Gems," the movie stars Pattinson as a bank robber whose disabled brother is arrested after a heist. It's Pattinson at his best, and Reeves took notice, explaining that he saw "Good Time" while working on the script for "The Batman." 

"I just started writing it for him because he had such intensity and drive, but also vulnerability," Reeves said. "And I think it's that mix. He really humanizes the character, but he's always surprising and he's very intense."

Over the years, Pattinson has bucked the notion that he's just a pretty face, pursuing challenging roles and working with a variety of celebrated directors. Reeves noted Pattinson's commitment to the craft, saying, "Rob is an extraordinary actor. It's interesting, you know, he became kind of a pop culture icon during 'Twilight,' and then he did such an interesting thing, which was to go off and pursue all these really interesting filmmakers."

Pattinson has made it clear that "The Batman" is more than just a return to blockbuster filmmaking. He's dedicated himself to the role of Bruce Wayne and all the challenges that come with it. "I knew he was going to be amazing," Reeves said, "but he ended up being even more than I thought he was going to be. He's a delight to work with and a lovely person."