Robert Pattinson Training For The Batman With Keanu Reeves’ John Wick Instructor

PA/Summit Entertainment

Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader could be the toughest yet: he’s preparing for The Batman with Keanu Reeves’ trainer for the John Wick films. 

As starry names flood Matt Reeves’ superhero cast for the 2021 movie, simply named The Batman, the High Life actor has been busy training with Rigan Machado, an 8th degree red and black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, who just happened to train Keanu Reeves for the John Wick movies.

Machado confirmed their allegiance recently on Instagram in a post (which has now been taken down) with the caption: ‘Batman is coming’.

Machado has trained a number of big Hollywood names, such as Vin Diesel and Charlie Hunnam. His knowledge was best witness in the John Wick films though, a sensationally action-packed trilogy with seamless, brutal choreography.

Pattinson is the latest actor to don the Dark Knight’s cowl, taking over from Ben Affleck after the generally maligned outings in the DCEU with Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League (that said, Affleck has one of the best Batman fight scenes to hit the screen).

PA

In an interview with Variety, Pattinson spoke of the first time he tried on the suit – following a screening of his next film, The Lighthouse, he flew to Los Angeles for his final interview. He said it felt ‘very powerful immediately’.

Pattinson said: 

It’s maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done in terms of movie stuff. I put it on. I remember saying to Matt, ‘It does feel quite transformative!’ He was like, ‘I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit.’

You do feel very powerful immediately, and it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating. You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you’ve got it on, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.’

You’re trying to think of the way to balance, how to bring something new to it and not want to scare people off, and work in the confines of the costume.

Thunderbird Releasing

Some may be sceptical of him taking on one of comicbook’s most famous characters – but if anything, he’s the perfect man for the job (also, if you’re still citing Twilight as a factor, you’ve clearly not seen any of his later movies).

In an interview with The New York Times, Pattinson said: 

Batman’s not a hero, though. He’s a complicated character. I don’t think I could ever play a real hero – there’s always got to be something a little bit wrong. I think it’s because one of my eyes is smaller than the other one.

I love the director, Matt Reeves, and it’s a dope character. His morality is a little bit off. He’s not the golden boy, unlike almost every other comic-book character. There is a simplicity to his worldview, but where it sits is strange, which allows you to have more scope with the character.

The Batman will hit cinemas in 2021. 

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]

Cameron Frew

After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.