How Robert Pattinson's Batman was inspired by Kurt Cobain

22 December 2021, 10:52 | Updated: 22 December 2021, 11:25

Robert Pattinson as The Batman and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain — The Batman director has revealed how Nirvana inspired him on the new film. Picture: 1. Warner Bros. Pictures 2. MEGA/GC Images 3. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty

By Jenny Mensah

The Batman director Matt Reeves has revealed how Nirvana's Something In The Way led him to think of Bruce Wayne in another way.

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Robert Pattison's Batman is certainly different from any we've seen before and it turns out he was inspired by Nirvana and their late frontman Kurt Cobain.

The upcoming DC reboot sees the Twilight Star take on the role of a brooding caped crusader and director Matt Reeves has revealed how he decided to take Bruce Wayne in a new direction while listening to the band.

“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s Something In The Way, that’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse,” said Reeves. “So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalised version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.”

An orchestral version of the Nirvana song features in the film's first trailer, which you can watch here:

THE BATMAN Official Trailer

Reeves also added that Pattinson himself had a Cobain-like quality.

He added: "He’s also got that Kurt Cobain thing, where he looks like a rock star, but you also feel like he could be a recluse.”

“Bruce has been hiding away,” added Pattinson, reinforcing how this will be a very different interpretation of the billionaire playboy philanthropist than we’ve seen previously.

“He’s not really a socialite at all. He’s building all these little contraptions and things, just with Alfred. And even Alfred thinks he’s gone insane!”

Alongside Robert Pattinson in the film, Zoë Kravitz stars as Catwoman/Selina Kyle in the film, reprising her role from The Lego Batman Movie where she lent her voice as the character. Paul Dano also stars as villain The Riddler/Edward Nashton and Jeffrey Wright stars as James Gordon, Batman’s ally in the Gotham police department.

Elsewhere, Colin Farrell stars as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Andy Serkis is Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro is Carmine Falcone, Alex Ferns stars as Commissioner Pete Savage, Con O’Neill is Chief Mackenzie Bock, Peter Sarsgaard is Gotham D.A. Gil Colson and Jayme Lawson is Bella Real.

The Batman is released in cinemas 4 March 2022.