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The Big Batman Detail That Made Robert Pattinson Feel Like An 'Idiot'

The latest issue of GQ features an in-depth profile of "The Batman" actor Robert Pattinson. The Dark Knight is easily the biggest role of Pattinson's career so far, and the actor took time to talk about how his and director Matt Reeves' approach differs from previous on-screen incarnations of the character. 

According to Pattinson, Reeves initially described his idea for the movie as something akin to Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 film "The Conversation." Familiar with previous takes on Batman, Pattinson assumed Reeves was simply talking about the tone of the film. However, the actor quickly learned different once he had an opportunity to actually watch a rough cut of the nearly three-hour movie

According to Pattinson, he better understood what Reeves had in mind from the very first shot of the film, something he described as "jarring." Surprisingly, Pattinson also revealed that the viewing experience helped him to make a major discovery about his character.

Pattinson didn't know about Batman's detective skills

"From the first shot, it's, 'Oh, this actually is a detective story,'" Pattinson told GQ, referencing Batman's famous investigative abilities which are said to take center stage in the upcoming film. "And I feel like an idiot, because I didn't even know that Batman was 'the world's greatest detective."

Though Batman's detective skills actually date back to his 1939 debut in "Detective Comics" #27, the Caped Crusader first called himself "the world's greatest detective" in "Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane" #99, an issue released in February of 1970 (via DC Fandom). In that comic, Batman laments the fact that, despite being "the world's greatest detective," he is unable to locate any evidence that might save Lois Lane from a criminal prosecution. 

In the years since, the title has become even more synonymous with the character's reputation in the field of crime fighting, especially in regards to "Arkham" video games (via Arkham City Fandom). According to Pattinson, we're going to see Batman's crime-solving expertise in a way we've never seen on the big screen before.

"There's a lot of stuff where he's in amongst the cops," Pattinson said. "Normally, when you see Batman he arrives and beats people up. But he's having conversations, and there are emotional scenes between them, which I don't think have been in any of the other movies."

"The Batman" arrives in theaters on March 4.