Robert Pattinson Officially Confirms The Batman Comic That Inspired His Dark Knight

Robert Pattinson recently joined his Primetime director, Lance Oppenheim, for GQ’s Action Replay series. During a conversation about Batman, the DC star revealed that he was trying to find his inspiration in territory that other movies hadn’t already explored. The search eventually led him to Batman: Shaman. “There’d been amazing interpretations of the character and I was just trying to find out what is the thing that hasn’t really been found,” he said.

Batman: Shaman is a story by Dennis O’Neil and Ed Hannigan. Originally published in 1989, the comic launched Legends of the Dark Knight and also explored the mystical symbolism of the bat symbol.

Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight Was Inspired by Batman: Shaman

Robert Pattinson in The Batman | Credits: Warner Bros.

Pattinson acknowledged that the comic explored “all about the kind of metaphysical aspects of what the symbolism of the specific bat means and just trying to abstract the idea rather than saying, ‘Yeah, it’s taking away the logic of becoming Batman and saying, no, I’m becoming this other thing.’”

The Batman star noted that the symbol wasn’t merely a tool to scare criminals. “It’s for yourself, and it’s because you feel a profound connection with this creature that you’ve created, which you then think you’re becoming or that it truly is you, even though you’ve constructed it yourself,” said Pattinson.

Why Batman: Shaman Was a Natural Fit for Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight

Robert Pattinson in a still from The Batman | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Batman: Shaman primarily follows Bruce Wayne investigating a series of murders in Gotham. As he eventually ends up in the Alaskan wilderness, he comes across a shaman. This is where Wayne learns all about the ancient spiritual beliefs surrounding the bat and its symbolism. This comic goes beyond the Dark Knight’s precise crime-fighting skills, exploring his metaphysical connection to a creature he has chosen as his symbol.

This was the perfect inspiration for Pattinson’s Dark Knight, as the actor himself was quite interested in exploring a new side of Batman. Pattinson revealed to GQ that the comic changed the way he viewed the Batman suit. He explained that he needed to believe it wasn’t just an outfit, but something that was a part of Dark Knight’s own skin. He said,

I was trying to draw a lot from that one comic. I thought it was very helpful.

DC itself has described Pattinson’s The Batman as a film focusing on his second year fighting crime in Gotham. The Matt Reeves movie presented Bruce Wayne in his youth, still trying to figure out what his Batman persona actually means. The comic also explores a similar idea; hence, Pattinson’s choice of Batman: Shaman is particularly fitting as a source of inspiration for his first Dark Knight movie. The Batman 2 is set to his theaters on February 18, 2028, with Pattinson currently filming in UK.

Do you think Batman: Shaman was the right choice? Let us know in the comments.