The Batman: How Old Is Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne?

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Batman.

How old is Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in The Batman? While Matt Reeves’ new DC reboot doesn’t confirm Wayne’s age in specific terms, it is possible to work out how old he is, and Reeves himself has offered some insight. He is far from an old man, but there is trauma and experience in the performance that suggests Pattinson’s Wayne has lived through a lot. He’s also cynical and knows Gotham as much as he loves the place, which adds depth to how lived-in Reeves’ Gotham feels.

The most interesting thing about Pattinson’s Batman is his newness as a hero and how it meshes with his naivety as a son of Gotham. He discovers his identity as Batman just as the Riddler’s secrets on Gotham City’s past and how Wayne himself is involved reveal more about his relationship with the institutions and people of Gotham. Christian Bale’s version of Bruce Wayne obviously explored a young Batman, but Pattinson’s truly deconstructs the character and the idea of Batman and his arc is centered on his age in a very direct way.

Other Batman actors have been older than Robert Pattinson, just as he’s not the youngest, but it’s interesting to explore why Pattinson’s Dark Knight feels so much younger. Here’s Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne age in The Batman.

How Old Is Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne In The Batman?

According to The Batman director Matt Reeves in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne was written to be around 30 years old. He is a Batman just finding his feet in Gotham as a hero, struggling to work out his identity. Robert Pattinson is older than the character, at 35 years old, but he is believably youthful, which fits Batman’s arc. To use the specific details of Batman’s origin, the Waynes were murdered after seeing The Mark Of Zorro, and The Batman version could still mirror that by having the movie they see be 1998’s The Mask Of Zorro making Bruce Wayne around 33, having originally been 8 when his parents were killed.

What Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne Was Doing Before The Batman

There are very few hints of what Bruce Wayne’s life has been before the events of The Batman, but they are in there to a certain extent. His physicality suggests some training, perhaps fitting with a similar backstory to Nolan’s Batman Begins and training outside of Gotham. That may explain why he and Andy Serkis’ Alfred are estranged, despite their obvious affection for each other. The fact that he is heavily involved in Wayne Industries also suggests that prior to his Batman vigilante days, he was an active part of the board room. If The Batman 2 introduces Hush, Bruce Wayne’s new backstory may be revealed in more detail.

How Old Is Batman In Year 2 In DC Comics?

Unlike The Batman‘s version of Bruce Wayne, in the comics, Batman was 26 years old during the events of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One, having returned to Gotham at the age of 25. That suggests that he would be 27 or 28 years old after his first two years of crime-fighting in Gotham, like Robert Pattinson’s Batman. So while Pattinson’s Batman is older than the DC comics version, he’s too far off, and is in line with the DC Rebirth set-up of Batman being mid-to-late-30s when he’s an established hero.

How Robert Pattinson’s Batman Age Compares To Other Movie Dark Knights

It makes most sense to count Batman’s age as matching the age of the actors who played him unless specifically mentioned. While it’s tempting to remember Michael Keaton as an older Batman, he played Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s Batman 1989 at the age of 37, just two years older than Robert Pattinson in The Batman. Adam West was also 37 years old when he debuted as Batman. Like Pattinson, Val Kilmer was 35 when Batman Forever was released, and George Clooney was also 35, but the time-gap to Batman & Robin suggests he was playing Batman older at around 40. Ben Affleck was 43 when Batman v Superman came out, but his statement that he’s been fighting criminals for 20 years probably means he was 45 or 46 at the time in line with the Batman DC comics timeline. While Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne would have been the youngest Batman when he started fighting crime before The Batman‘s events, Christian Bale was the youngest actor, having been 31 when he shot Batman Begins. He became Batman in-universe at age 30, 2 years or so after Pattinson’s version.

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Simon Gallagher
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Simon is a veteran editor who has been writing online since 2010 – long before anyone wanted to read his work. He loves Clueless. Like, a lot.

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