Why Robert Pattinson Says He Was 'F**king Furious' When Batman Casting Came Out

The news of Robert Pattinson being cast as the titular role in Matt Reeves' upcoming film The Batman was met with divisive opinions, to say the very least. Many diehard DC fans were under the (incorrect) impression that the 33-year-old star had only dabbled in acting with the teen drama Twilight series, while others were fully aware of his talent with his starring roles in indie films such as Good Time (2017) and Cosmopolis (2012). But it seems all the noise, no matter positive or negative, really scared the British heartthrob.

For his new Variety cover story, Pattinson opened up on the craziness that was being cast as Bruce Wayne, recalling the fact that the news came out before he actually got the role. And because of that, he was fully under the impression that it could lose him the opportunity. "When that thing leaked, I was f**king furious," the actor admitted. "Everyone was so upset. Everyone was panicking from my team. I sort of thought that had blown up the whole thing."

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Robert Pattinson couldn’t stop Googling himself. In mid-May, the 33-year-old actor found himself obsessively refreshing his phone on a flight from Los Angeles to the south of France. He was headed to the #CannesFilmFestival for the world premiere of his new movie, #TheLighthouse (co-starring Willem Dafoe), just days before he was set to start shooting the next Christopher Nolan film, #Tenet. But someone had tipped off the press about another top-secret project, one the entire world was now reporting on: Pattinson had been cast as the next Batman.⁠ ⁠ In this week's Variety cover story, R-Patz talks becoming #Batman and why #TheLighthouse is just weird enough. Link in bio. (?: @matthewbrookesphoto)

A post shared by Variety (@variety) on Sep 3, 2019 at 6:00am PDT

The actor was out in France at Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of his upcoming film The Lighthouse, directed by Robert Eggers, when the headlines hit. "It was terrifying," Pattinson recalled. "I was like, 'Oh f**k! Does that screw me because they are so intent on secrecy?'" Of course, as you might recall, the media wouldn't leave him alone about The Batman, all while he was trying to promote another movie. "The whole thing was a lot," he added.

Pattinson also shared his audition process, specifically when he put on the suit for the first time. "I put it on. I remember saying to Matt [Reeves], ‘It does feel quite transformative!' He was like, 'I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit.'" he shared, adding, "You do feel very powerful immediately. And it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating. You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something."

And perhaps the craziest part about the whole Batman casting? Pattinson finally found out that he officially had the role while on set for another film, Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker is famous for helming the Dark Knight trilogy. "It’s so bizarre," Pattinson recalled. "I was like, 'What a coincidence this is happening. It’s absolutely crazy.'"

Despite starring in one of the biggest franchises in terms of the box office with The Twilight Saga, it seems nothing could prepare Pattinson for the attention the role of the Caped Crusader has brought him. But the actor seems ready to tackle the part, one which he revealed he's wanted for a while now. The Batman is set to hit theaters on June 25, 2021.