In an interview with a French publication, Robert Pattinson has compared his iteration of Batman with the caped crusader’s portrayal in animated movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which was a spin-off of the highly-acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. Many Batman fans still maintain that this was the best adaptation of the DC comics character.
Batman: The Animated Series ran from 1992-1995 and has been praised for it’s noir atmosphere, Art Deco aesthetic, as well as the voice acting of Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (Joker). Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was a 1993 movie that had a murder mystery storyline and featured the Joker, as well as new villain Phantasm.
Speaking to Premiere France, Pattinson said; “I sincerely believe that the tone of The Batman has nothing to do (with the previous movies), it feels new. In the comics, Batman is someone more… unstable. If you read between the lines, it’s actually very sad. Whereas in the cinema, it is always his heroic side that is put forward. The Batman does the opposite, we capture the inner bubbling of the character.”
Pattinson continued; “In my opinion, the only other (film) to achieve this is the animated film Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm. When I saw it, it clicked: being Batman is a kind of curse, it’s a burden. But hey man, you decided that, right? “No no no, I HAVE to be Batman. I was chosen, not the other way around.” I don’t think we’ve ever really seen that in a live film.”
Fans of Batman: The Animated Series have already been delighted by what has already become an iconic line from The Batman trailer “I’m Vengeance,” which echoes a similar quote from the animation. They will be hoping that Matt Reeves has put more nods to the beloved series in the highly-anticipated new movie, set for release on March 4.
In the meantime, check out our guide to the best animated series to find out whether Batman is there.