For Robert Pattinson, playing Batman appears to require more than putting on the suit and stepping into Gotham. Matt Reeves’ version of the character has been built around a world of shadows, rain, crime and isolation, and the actor says spending months inside that atmosphere can affect him even after filming ends. It is perhaps why the prospect of taking this particular Bruce Wayne into a very different DC universe feels complicated to him.

The contrast became particularly apparent when Pattinson was speaking to LADbible ahead of the release of Primetime, in which he stars alongside Skyler Gisondo, who plays Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn’s DCU. Asked how his Batman would fit alongside characters such as Gisondo’s Olsen, Pattinson joked that he would simply “make the other characters more serious”.

Pattinson then addressed the possibility of his Batman crossing over into Gunn’s DCU, calling the idea interesting but admitting it would be “kind of tough” to have his version of Bruce Wayne outside Matt Reeves’ world. He pointed to both the lengthy shoots and the distinctive filmmaking style, saying the tone “gets inside you”.

The actor explained that The Batman’s production conditions are unlike those of many of the brighter DCU projects. Referring to Gotham as a set in Watford, he recalled spending around eight months in darkness, saying he had “no conception of being connected to anything in the world” and that it was difficult to maintain his sanity during the process. He also said the experience affected him afterwards, both in terms of mood and the physical lack of light.

That tonal divide has been at the centre of the discussion around Pattinson’s Batman since Gunn and Peter Safran launched their new DCU. Reeves’ The Batman and its spin-off The Penguin have been treated as part of a separate Elseworlds continuity, while the DCU is building towards its own Batman in The Brave and the Bold. Gunn had previously confirmed that he had considered bringing Pattinson’s version into the main universe, while also stressing that DC intended to preserve its Elseworlds stories.

Reeves, too, has previously indicated that the decision would ultimately depend on whether integrating the two worlds made sense for the story he was telling. He has described his Batman films as an “Epic Crime Saga” and expressed an interest in retaining the freedom to tell stories outside the main DCU continuity.

The separation also allows Reeves to maintain the grounded approach that defined the 2022 film. While Pattinson has previously expressed interest in more fantastical Batman characters, Reeves has said that his preference is to explore grounded interpretations even when dealing with characters such as Mr Freeze.

For now, Pattinson remains attached to Reeves’ Gotham, with The Batman: Part II in production. The sequel has undergone multiple delays and is currently scheduled for February 18, 2028, while the DCU’s Batman project, The Brave and the Bold, remains a separate project under director Andy Muschietti.