"The Batman" has arrived in theaters and even if you haven't seen the movie yet, you've surely seen the trailers, which have focused a lot on Robert Pattinson's brand new, heavily-revamped Batmobile. Essentially, Matt Reeves opted to give the DC hero a muscle car this time around, and it's impressive. What's perhaps most impressive is that Pattinson actually did unleash the beast and got the car up to around 100 miles per hour.
Production designer James Chinlund recently spoke with Insider about his work in the film, which involved crafting a version of the Batmobile that felt like Bruce Wayne built it himself. In speaking about the car, Chinlund explained that it was indeed the former "Twilight" star driving the car at times, and he didn't take it easy:
"Rob put it through its paces. He was there working it out for sure. He got it to some top speeds. He was heavily involved in his stunt driving work."
This is not to say that stunt drivers didn't help out with that crazy car chase, but Pattinson wanted to get his hands dirty. Dominic Tuohy built the Batmobile and used a Chevy V8 627 horsepower engine to give it that kick. As Chinlund explains, "I don't know the top speed it did, but we were out on a closed airport runway for the case sequence work and it went fast." The outlet reached out to Tuohy, who said it likely eclipsed 100 miles per hour.
Must Go Faster
As implemented in "The Batman," the Batmobile certainly serves a purpose and fits in with the version of Gotham City that Reeves has crafted, as well as this especially emo version of the character. It is a no-nonsense, drive-like-hell version of the classic vehicle that is geared to get results. Given that this franchise has been around for decades now, it doesn't hurt to offer up new takes on the iconography, and this is a great example.
It was previously revealed that Stephen King's "Christine" served as inspiration for the car, which is telling. Elaborating a bit further, Chinlund explained what led them to this take:
"We loved the idea that Bruce was a gear head. He would take pride in building things himself. And for us that right there was a huge separation from the other 'Batman' movies."
At this point, it looks more than likely that we're going to get a sequel to the movie sooner rather than later. Critics love the film and audiences are turning out in droves. That means we're likely to see even more of the car in the future, or the new tuned-up version that Battinson creates for his next adventure. Fingers crossed.
"The Batman" is in theaters now.
Read this next: Superman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best
The post Robert Pattinson Actually Drove The Batmobile 100 Miles Per Hour, For Real appeared first on /Film.