In an interview with Empire, director Matt Reeves talked about how late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain inspired his adaptation of the comic book character in the new film. "When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana's Something In The Way," he said, referring to the grunge rock group's 1991 song. "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. Pattinson drew Reeves' attention after the director watched his performance in the 2017 crime thriller Good Time. "In that movie, you could really feel his vulnerability and desperation, but you could also feel his power," the director told. "I thought that was a great mix. He's also got that Kurt Cobain thing, where he looks like a rock star, but you also feel like he could be a recluse."