Riddle me this, riddle me that, what will Robert Pattinson look like in the suit of the bat? That’s the Riddler-ized version of the question on every Bat-fan’s mind right now. We’ve got over the shock of the former Twilight star playing Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman surprisingly quickly and now we’re all eager to see him in the iconic costume. Unfortunately, though, we’re unlikely to for a while. But to ease the blow, we’ve at least got some new info on how it might look.
We Got This Covered has heard from some reliable sources – the same ones who told us Pattinson had beat out Nicholas Hoult for the titular role, and that Mahershala Ali was going to star in the film before he dropped out, which we now know to be true – how the costume will appear. We’ve been informed that it’ll be mostly based off the design of the suit seen in The Long Halloween – which is already an influence on the story – and that it’ll resemble the one illustrated by artist Tim Sale in the graphic novel. Color-wise, that means it’ll be black and grey with a hint of dark blue, too.
Sale’s stylized artwork is legendary amongst comic readers, so this is exciting news to hear. TLH‘s Batman is also notable for possessing a very long, billowing cape and tall, pointy ears on the cowl. These two notable features weren’t specified to us by our sources, so we’re unsure if they’ll make it into the movie’s costume design. Given the practicalities, though, I’d speculate that these elements may be toned down for the screen. In any case, seeing as this intel comes from the same sources who told us WB wanted J.J. Abrams to direct a Superman or Green Lantern film back in September, which Variety just confirmed today, we’re inclined to believe it.
Pattinson’s revealed that he already wore the Batsuit as part of his screen tests for the part. However, it’s probable that this was one inherited from a previous production, maybe Christian Bale’s from The Dark Knight Rises. This is the usual practice in these situations. Like how Henry Cavill wore a very classic Superman suit for his Man of Steel audition.
The Batman is expected to head into production in early 2020 and is due for release in theaters on June 25th, 2021. Which means that with any luck, we might just get our first look at Pattinson in costume early in the new year. Fingers crossed.