The Batman — will Robert Pattinson be much thinner than even we expected as the Caped Crusader?

I have to admit, this current news piece has me a bit…torn. As many Batman fans will tell you, the Caped Crusader is known for his…girth. Poor phrasing, I know. But basically, he’s a big dude. He has the silhouette of a big beast of a man and he’s devoted himself to a life of martial arts and crime-fighting. There’s a reason why Ben Affleck’s Batman is seen as a great physical interpretation of the character. He completely nails the silhouette and physique. This is part of the reason many fans were concerned when Robert Pattinson was hired to take on the role of Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

Robert Pattinson has had a long and interesting career, and he certainly has the acting chops to make it happen. But what about the physique. When people think about him, they may compare him more to a skinny hipster than the Batman himself. But we’ve been down this road before. We’ve seen Hollywood stars like Christian Bale and Chris Pratt make superhero transformations. In spite of supposed reported difficulties Pattinson had with gaining muscle, I was confident his beefiness would be “good enough.” Hell, at the end of the day, maybe it’d be refreshing to have a smaller, more scrappy version of the character.

However, if you were holding out hope that he would somehow get big, it sounds like the pandemic may have tossed out any possibility of that happening.

Catwoman’s Workout Routine

As we widely reported, production on The Batman was well underway before it was canceled. The COVID-19 pandemic essentially forced the change. In the weeks since then, Catwoman star Zoë Kravitz expressed how difficult it has been staying in superhero shape during quarantine. In fact, she jokingly set a message to Reeves saying they may need to make the suit a few sizes bigger. 

Instead of letting her duties fall to the wayside, however, she got to work, as she told Vanity Fair last month.

“So I quickly decided to get my s**t together and I’ve been working out virtually with my trainer David Higgins five days a week,” Kravitz said. “And it’s actually been really great because it’s been giving me some kind of structure because I do it at the same time and it also makes the weekends feel like a weekend because I don’t work out on the weekends and it gives me just, oh, it’s a different kind of a day.”

So, what about Pattinson?

The Batman’s Workout Routine

This leads us to Robert Pattinson — The Battinson himself. According to a new profile from GQ, Pattinson was left with a Bosu ball, a weight, and a plea from his trainer to use both. At this moment, Pattinson is in quarantine with his girlfriend in London in an apartment being rented by The Batman production.

Apparently, Pattinson’s ignoring the trainer. And it doesn’t seem to be out of laziness, but almost a protest about getting ripped as a Hollywood star.

“I think if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem,” Pattinson told the outlet. By “you” he meant other actors, not you, the readers. “You set a precedent. No one was doing this in the ’70s. Even James Dean—he wasn’t exactly ripped.”

When the reporter brought up Kravitz workout routine, Pattinson said, “Literally, I’m just barely doing anything.”

So, What Does This Mean?

Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit torn. On one hand, you have a guy who signed on to do a job. Rather than stick to it, it seems like he’s letting his responsibilities fall to the wayside. This is a character known for his bulk. By not even trying, you’re letting a lot of people down, whether intentional or not.

On the other hand, we are living in abnormal times. This pandemic is taking its toll on everyone mentally. How fair is it for a job that was supposed to extend for several months to cover the better part of a year? And how difficult would it be for an actor like him to lock himself away and still be able to mentally take on a challenge like becoming the Batman?

Potential mental anguish aside, I can also kind of see his point. We are used to seeing our heroes get absolutely ripped. In the end, it can set an unrealistic precedent about what is humanly possible. With all these movie stars looking like gods, it gives normies like us an unrealistic perception about what we can accomplish under normal circumstances. It’s almost admirable that he seems to be actively rebelling against this. 

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Then again, this is Hollywood. These are superheroes. So…yeah.

Plus, we can’t discount the reality that there are likely tons of actors out there who would have been happy to take on the job, put on the muscle, and stick it out in quarantine. It just feels a bit entitled.

Literally, I can go back on forth on this thing without even discussing the fact that it would be a betrayal to the physique of the character. But what do you think? Should the Batman be big, and how do you feel about Robert Pattinson actively ignoring his trainer’s requests to stay fit during quarantine? Think we’ll end up seeing the Batman inflate and deflate throughout random scenes in the movie? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Vanity Fair, GQ