Robert Pattinson may still be Gotham’s Dark Knight, but at 40, he’s discovering that being Batman doesn’t get any easier on the body. The actor is currently filming the sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman II in London and says the physically demanding action sequences are starting to hit a little differently than they did when he first donned the cape.
“I’m definitely feeling my age when fighting a lot,” Pattinson told GQ India. “I’m literally like, ‘Goddamn, this is significantly harder than it used to be.’”
Still, he sounds energized by the production.
“It’s really fun,” Pattinson said. “And I think the movie’s going to be pretty great. It’s got a really, really fun cast, but it’s a marathon.”
Pattinson first played Bruce Wayne in Reeves’ 2022 noir-driven take on the DC hero, which paired him with Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot and Paul Dano as the Riddler.
Details surrounding the sequel remain closely guarded, though Pattinson confirmed he’ll remain in London through the end of the year while filming continues.
He also revealed one surprisingly important piece of Bruce Wayne’s wardrobe: his watch.
Pattinson, who is an ambassador for Jaeger-LeCoultre, said he wears one of the luxury brand’s watches in the new Batman film and that putting it on has become part of getting into character.
“As soon as you put the Reverso on, it definitely has a Bruce Wayne feel,” he said.
Pattinson later learned that former Batman actor Christian Bale had also worn Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, something he found strangely fitting.
“There’s something that felt so incredibly correct for it,” Pattinson noted. “It’s the last thing I put on when you put the costume on.”
He called the whole ritual “extremely Bruce Wayne-coded.”
REELated:
From Sorting Hats to Quidditch, HBO releases Harry Potter trailer
The Batman sequel comes at the end of an unusually packed stretch for Pattinson, who says he has barely stopped working since the Hollywood strikes.
His recent run has included Die, My Love, The Drama, Primetime, The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three and now another trip through Gotham.
Pattinson said that when an Adam McKay project fell apart, he reconsidered how he wanted to choose roles.
“I just changed my mindset,” he said. “I don’t care about doing big movies or leads. I’m just going to do stuff I find interesting.”
That philosophy has apparently created one very crowded schedule.
“I literally left Die My Love and flew to The Drama,” Pattinson said. “I finished that and flew to Primetime basically the same day.”
By the time Batman finally hangs up the cape after this shoot, Pattinson already knows what comes next.
A vacation.
And after spending months getting punched around Gotham at 40, Bruce Wayne would probably approve.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
