Entertainment Movies Historical Movies Robert Pattinson Says 'It's Insane' That He's Playing Batman: 'I Literally Do Not Understand' "I literally do not understand how I've got it, at all," Robert Pattinson said of playing Batman By Ale Russian Ale Russian Ale Russian is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has appeared in Women's World, First For Women, Biography.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 3, 2019 10:43AM EDT It’s been months since Robert Pattinson officially won the role of Batman for an upcoming new trilogy — but he’s still not sure how it all happened. The actor sat down for a new interview with Esquire alongside The Lighthouse costar Willem Dafoe where he got candid about his own shock at being cast in the iconic role. “It’s kind of insane,” Pattinson, 33, said. “I was so far away from ever thinking it was a realistic prospect. I literally do not understand how I’ve got it, at all.” Robert Pattinson’s Batman Films Are a Trilogy: It’s Bruce Wayne in ‘Detective Mode,’ Says Director In an earlier interview with Variety — his first since being confirmed as the new caped crusader — Pattinson revealed that he’s been training for the part since childhood. The actor admitted that he had grown up watching the Tim Burton Batman movies and once had his own Batman costume. “When I was a kid, it was the only outfit that I had,” he said. Joe Scarnici/Getty After news broke that Pattinson would be taking over the role previously played by George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, among others, the internet was divided, but the actor told Variety that he wasn’t fazed by the doubters. “To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting,” he said, adding, “It’s much more fun when you’re an underdog. There’s no expectation of you.” Jaden Smith Is Losing His ‘F—- S—‘ Over Robert Pattinson’s Batman: ‘He Will Be the Best’ Pattinson also said the experience of putting on the Batsuit for the first time was “transformative.” “You do feel very powerful immediately,” he shared. “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,” the actor said of bringing a fresh face to the famous franchise. “And work in the confines of the costume.” The Lighthouse opens October 18.