Following an extended delay, The Batman has finally hit theaters worldwide. The Matt Reeves-directed film tells an entirely new tale about the iconic Dark Knight and gives audiences a completely original take on the famous world the vigilante inhabits. This time around, Robert Pattinson dons the suit and takes on the criminal underground of Gotham City.
Every Batman to date has had a unique and identifiable look to them. Michael Keaton had his yellow chest symbol and stiff cowl, Christian Bale sported his all-black tactical look, and Ben Affleck had the ultra-detailed gray fabric with an overall beefier aesthetic.
Pattinson brings his own take on the Batman look as well. What stands out the most is how practical it all looks. It also perfectly reads like the suit of a hero who isn't that far into their career. He doesn't have all the fancy gadgets or top-of-the-line equipment to make the most seamless suits.
Then there's the eye makeup, which isn't a facet of Batman's look that often gets the spotlight in his live-action appearances. Eagle-eyed viewers would notice how each area around the eyes of each Batman has been black—however, it's never shown what they do to accomplish this.
In the film, Pattinson can be seen applying black makeup around his eyes before transforming into the Dark Knight. Apparently, not only was this not originally in the movie, but it helped the actor win the role.
Robert Pattinson's Eye Makeup Gets the Win
In an interview with Twitter Movies, The Batman director Matt Reeves responded to a tweet asking for "[Robert Pattinson to] drop a makeup tutorial for Bruce's eyeliner."
Reeves mentions how that was actually "one of the things that [he] threw" at the actor during his audition, and he asked Pattinson to "look at yourself in the mirror as you transform and put on that eye makeup:"
"It's in the movie [laughs]. You know what's so funny is that when I was doing [Robert Pattinson's] screen test, one of the things that I threw him a curveball... I said I want to do this thing. I want to see what Rob does if I throw him this challenge... He was in one of the original Batsuits, one of the ones with nipples, and we were shooting it, and he came up to a mirror that I set up for him, and I said, 'I just want you to look at yourself in the mirror as you transform and put on that eye makeup.' And I just thought that moment would be interesting. It wasn't in the script. And Rob was so fascinating to watch when he was doing it. When I showed it to the studio, they were captivated, and I was like, 'We have to put this in the movie.' And so, it's in the movie. You see him doing it. It's like he puts on the war paint, and that's what Batman would have to do.
The Batman's Eyeliner Tutorial
It's always fun to learn little behind-the-scenes stories like this. For those that have watched The Batman, this Bruce Wayne is often seen during those transformation moments more than usual as he becomes the Batman.
Seeing heroes suit up on screen isn't a common occurrence in modern comic book movies due to their super suits are far from practical; In real life, it can actually take a dozen people to assemble and put on an actor correctly.
While viewers don't get to see Pattinson put on the full suit, the eye makeup is still new territory. Maybe fans are one step closer to seeing someone like Superman actually have to pull on and climb into those fancy tights of his. Maybe this could be an audition criteria for the next actor to some in for Supes?
The Batman is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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