The costume designers for Batman explain how they approached Robert Pattinson’s practical and innovative Bat suit design. The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, premiered in March 2022 to critical and public acclaim for its gritty noir-style take on the legendary superhero.
Pattinson’s Bat suit has been the topic of great debate since the film’s first elements were disclosed, standing out amid the various previous versions on the garment.
Glyn Dillon and David Crossman, The Batman costume designers, explained how The Batman’s incredibly practical Bat suit design came to be in an interview with Deadline. They claimed that Reeves wanted the Bat suit to be “utilitarian,” valuing function above fashion. With this in mind, Dillon and Crossman transformed the cape into a wingsuit, and the bat emblem into a sword.
To add weight, the cape was made of Japanese imitation leather, and the outfit was composed of nylon to resemble bulletproof Kevlar.
Why Robert Pattinson’s Utilitarian Bat Suit Was Ideal for Batman
It seems logical that Reeves and his team chose a more practical take on the Bat suit, given that The Batman takes a utilitarian approach in general.
The Batman, like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight movies, priorities utility above fashion. But Reeves’ picture goes a step further by giving The Batman grit and a whole new level of practicality to its characters, design, and plot.
However, one may argue that the breadth of The Batman’s narrative is likewise less grand, more based in realism, and focuses on the investigative work done in Gotham.
While this may alter in the sequels, Reeves’ first Batman picture plays more like a murder mystery a la Seven, with overtones of political intrigue between Gotham’s crime gangs.
And, rather of making the third act about Batman needing to defend his city from a huge terrorist plot involving the water system, Reeves takes a risk by having The Riddler arrange a mass shooting, bringing horror much closer to reality.
The grounded, realistic Bat suit is ideal for this situation. There’s little doubt that Batman and Cat woman have been through a lot, and the costume design for the characters does the difficult, nuanced work of communicating their tale.
This is what makes the clothing design so appropriate for the picture. All of the clothes in The Batman match the realistic, worn-in feel Reeves was undoubtedly striving for, from Cat woman’s faded jumpsuit to the perfectly made, all-function Bat suit.
