Ahead of the cover story by Empire Magazine, two new images from the upcoming Batman movie have been released. The images show Bruce Wayne played by Robert Pattinson both in and out of the Batman costume, highlighting the unexpected inspiration for director Matt Reeve’s take on Bruce Wayne in the film.

Reeves’ says that his version of the hero was inspired by none other than the 90s grunge star himself, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. The choice comes from the specific kind of angst Reeves’ wanted Pattinson to capture while playing the character and the first clue came from a Nirvana song being played in both trailers released thus far. 

“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In That Way,” Reeves explained to Empire “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalized version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.” 

This take on Bruce Wayne was not the only difference between Reeves’ version and The Dark Knight, he also discussed how his Batman will center around the hero’s status as the world’s greatest detective. 

“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional,” Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.”

As Pattinson takes on the role of the new Batman, there are many questions as to how he’s going to be able to handle becoming Bruce Wayne, as anticipation builds for the film, so does the excitement to see Pattinsons’ take on the character.

The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022.