Robert Pattinson Did His Batman Screen Test In Val Kilmer's Batsuit

At DC's FanDome 2021 event, "The Batman" director Matt Reeves sat down with stars Robert Pattinson, who plays Batman, and Zoë Kravitz, who plays the enigmatic Catwoman. Reeves revealed that in order to get casting approval, Pattison had to do a screen test in a bat suit they happened to have on hand. It wasn't just any bat suit, of course, but Val Kilmer's from the 1995 Joel Schumacher film "Batman Forever." 

Pattinson apparently donned one of the more infamous batsuits in history for his screen test. Kilmer's costume was roasted by fans when it debuted in 1995 because, well, it had nipples! The nipples on the rubber costume caused a surprising amount of ruckus, and Schumacher continually apologized for them in interviews.

Reeves had Pattinson don the suit from 1995 (let's hope they aired it out) and both were a little taken aback in the moment, but for very different reasons. Reeves felt like he had truly found his Batman, but Pattinson was focused on more mundane concerns:

"It was crazy, but I remember putting it on and thinking 'this is going to be absolutely impossible.' I remember [Reeves] saying I guess, just trying to move, wearing a kind of two-inch thick rubber suit or latex suit and being incredibly nervous and full of adrenaline the whole time, I remember we did like two takes and [Reeves] saying 'well what can we do about this sweat?' Nothing! There's nothing that can be done! I would have to be drained of liquid."

Kilmer had his own problems with the rubber suit, which he detailed extensively in his 2021 documentary, "Val":

"Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit. Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him ... not necessarily play him in a movie."

Yikes. Good thing Pattinson was able to trade the screen test version in for a newer model, and hopefully had a better time with his Batman role. 

Reeves explained that it was at that moment, seeing Pattinson in the eye makeup and costume, that he wanted the "Good Times" star for the role. There was one little concern, though:

"If you think of Bruce Wayne as this recluse rock star in this decaying manor, there's this part of me that so saw you as that, and I had no idea if you would be interested in the role at all. I thought, 'what if Rob doesn't want to play Batman? This will be a disaster!'"

Thankfully, Pattinson was already a huge fan of the Batman franchise and was eager to help Reeves bring his new vision of Batman to life.

"The Batman" will exclusively hit theaters on March 4, 2022.