Robert Pattinson Discusses The Psychology Behind Batman's No Kill Code in THE BATMAN
As we’ve seen in the trailers released for The Batman, Robert Pattinson’s Batman is on a mission of vengeance for the death of his parents and he’s dishing out the pain to any criminal that crosses his path. One thing that Batman won’t do is kill, as you know he has a no kill code, and that will very much be a part of this character that stays intact in this movie.
Pattinson recently sat down with Premiere Magazine and discussed the psychology behind Batman’s no kill code, how he takes pleasure in brutally punishing criminals, along with what keeps him from actually killing them. He explains:
"There is this rule with Batman: he must not kill. It can be interpreted in two ways. Either he only wants to inflict the appropriate punishment, or he wants to kill and his self-control prevents him from doing so. I imagined it that way from the rehearsal of the first fight, I thought it was funnier: something in him just wanted to slit the guy's throat! I told myself that if he spends his nights chasing criminals, it is impossible that he does not take pleasure in it. He suffers and it is a desire that overwhelms him.
"And by dint of knocking, his mind clears, he calms down, he reaches a state close to plenitude. I'm sure in this first fight, he manages to convince himself that every guy in front of him is the one who killed his mother (Laughs.) And so that allows him to vent all his rage."
I like that outlook on the character and what might be going through his head when he’s beating the hell out of people. The actor went on to say that this Batman "practically lives in the gutter. He's nowhere at home except on the street when he's wearing the suit. He lives a criminal life, but without committing crimes! I felt like I could get something out of that. Anyway, I could only play a superhero if he was really dirty!"
When previously talking about his version of The Dark Knight and the type of person he is, Pattinson said:
"He doesn't have as much control over his personality, like the delineation between when he's Batman and when he's Bruce is not so clear and other kinds of iterations of it where he really knows what he's doing when he's putting on the cowl. And I kind of really like this idea of it's a little bit out of control. He hasn't completely defined what Batman is. I mean, he gets lost in it whenever he's putting on [Batman] every night. He's not sleeping and he's becoming this quite sort of odd creature."
I can’t help but be excited about the way director Matt Reeves and Pattinson are approaching the character. This movie is really going to explore the psychology of the character, more so than any of the other films that have been made, and that aspect is going to make this movie stand out.
Here’s the synopsis for the film, which is going to be nearly 3-hours long:
Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World's Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
The Batman is set to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.
