The Batman, the latest Caped Crusader movie starring Robert Pattinson, has had a long and challenging road to the big screen. After die-hard fans complaining about its casting to set injuries and COVID-19 shutdowns, the Matt Reeves–directed film finally debuted at its world premiere in New York on Tuesday night.

“I really didn’t do anything else for years because my commitment has only been to The Batman,” said Pattinson at the film’s premiere at Lincoln Center, marking the return of extravagant Hollywood red-carpet events with screaming fans. “And after filming, it was so heavy. I hadn’t literally seen the sun in 18 months. I could barely walk for months. I’m vaguely coming back to normal now!”

The Batman, out in theaters March 4, is a stand-alone story that takes Gotham City’s vigilante back to his earliest roots as a detective. Set in a contemporary reality, The Batman film does not rehash the Bruce Wayne origin story, but follows a Bruce who has been suiting up as Batman for a little over a year.

When news broke in 2019 that Pattinson would be playing the role, backlash erupted on social media. Fervent fans criticized Pattinson’s lean physique and even created petitions on Change.org asking the studio to reconsider the casting.

“Yes, I did hear about the backlash,” Pattinson admitted on the red carpet. “So many people connect with the character on such a deep level. I could understand why people would be upset. With a character like this, everybody knows it’s highly competitive, and everyone is going to judge me before the film is released and afterwards. Everyone who has played the part has had a massive and such an incredible legacy, so everyone is interested to see how I’m going to do it. From the very beginning, I was fully committed to the part. I didn’t want to fuck it up.”

Once Pattinson was locked in to play Batman, he began training with stunt coordinator Robert Alonzo. For seven weeks, he learned martial arts and fight choreography.

“This was by far the hardest role I’ve done physically. I had to learn a very particular method of choreography. It looks easy, but it’s actually not,” Pattinson said, laughing. “First, you learn certain martial arts moves. Then you build into different patterns really quickly, and then add a few sets of different combinations. As soon as you put on the suit, everything gets more difficult.”

At the start of production, Pattinson broke his wrist during a stunt. Then, in March of 2020 the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only about 25% of the movie shot. Production resumed roughly six months later—and Pattinson was said to have tested positive for COVID in September 2020. (Pattinson’s representative did not return a request for comment at the time.) A production shutdown followed.

“This was the craziest experience of my entire life with the biggest amount of pressure,” he said. “But, I’m so proud of the movie. It would be so fun to do it again with Zoë.”

That would be Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, a troubled woman with a traumatic past who is evolving into the iconic Catwoman. Kravitz arrived at the premiere with her stepfather, Aquaman’s Jason Momoa, and her 14-year-old sister, Lola, and 13-year-old brother, Nakoa-Wolf. Kravitz did not speak to print publications, but Momoa walked the red carpet and acted as her cheerleader. “I’m so proud of her. The family is here tonight to support her,” he said. “We’re very excited, and she’s very excited. I know she loved playing Catwoman.”

When asked if he had given Kravitz any words of wisdom for joining the DC Comic world, Momoa replied, “She doesn’t need any advice from me. She’s a pro. She’s such a hard worker, present, respectful, and always prepared. The best advice is to have fun, and she knows that too.”

The Batman also stars Paul Dano as the psychotic Riddler, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, and Andy Serkis as Alfred. Director Reeves was absent from Tuesday night’s premiere—he caught COVID while visiting Paris and London for the film’s press tour—but from quarantine, he participated in a live video feed and introduced the film to the audience. “The good news is that I am healthy, I am good, but I am not with you, and it’s a great heartbreak for me because this movie means so much to me,” Reeves told the crowd. “It was a five-year journey for me, and I’m really excited that we’re sharing it with you tonight. It was quite an unexpected journey.”

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