From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Matt Reeves' The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City's vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne.

Entertainment Affair recently participated in a virtual press conference with director Matt Reeves, producer Dylan Clark and cast members Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, and John Turturro. Below are a few things you need to know about The Batman, according to its cast and creators.

Director Matt Reeves on the comic books and other films that inspired The Batman

“On the comics front, I did a deep dive and read so many comic books that inspired this tonally,” Reeves said. “There was something in the tone of ‘Batman: Year One’ that grounded it, but it also felt cinematic in a way that reminded me of an American ’70s movie. And then ‘Batman: Ego’ by Darwyn Cooke was really important because it was really dealing with the psychology of being Batman, the idea of the beast within and [his] internal struggle, which I thought was really captivating. Then, I would also add ‘The Long Halloween’ by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale. This series is super important because it focused on the hunt for a serial killer, with Batman getting caught up in it as the world’s greatest detective.”

“As for the movies that were so inspirational, to me, there’s a way in which Gordon and Batman in this movie are Woodward and Bernstein, with all the corruption and how high does it go. And so it’s kind of like ‘All the President’s Men,’ and there’s a bit of ‘The French Connection,’ and there’s a bit of Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ and also Pakula’s neo-noir ‘Klute.’ The relationship between John Klute and Bree Daniels very much informs the relationship between Batman and Selena Kyle aka Catwoman. Those ’70s movies also inspired me to want to make movies in the first place.” he explained.

Robert Pattinson on how playing such an early version of Batman affected his performance and feelings about the character

“Normally for Batman, he goes away, trains, and he comes back fully realized. He’s confident that his abilities have changed, he’s confident and he’s heroic. In this [film], I love all the kinds of frailties he has– like when he was using the cape for the first time. Batman has always been fallible, he’s just a man in an armored suit, but this really embraces that. It makes it more interesting to play,” he said.

John Turturro, who plays mob boss Carmine Falcone, was truly happy to be in the film

“I couldn’t believe I was in a Batman film,” admitted Turturro. “After watching the film, I was really struck by the relationship that develops between Rob and Zoe in the movie. I really thought there was something unusual about what they were doing, individually and with each other. I’m delighted to be part of the film.”

Zoë Kravitz, who plays Selina Kyle, talked about the chemistry between the Cat and the Bat

“Me and Rob had been friends for a long time and I think a lot of [the chemistry] was on the page,” said Kravitz. “It’s really what Matt wrote, the emotional states of both of these characters were so clear and the connection that they find in each other and why they connect was so clear, so I feel like it was kind of built-in.”

“These people, they’ve both felt alone their entire lives, and to meet somebody who has a similar way of thinking, and that grabs you the way that they grab each other, I think it really is in the heart of the story and it’s really a big deal for both of these characters to feel this way. So if you’re attached to your character emotionally, it’s really easy to play that part of it.”

Jeffrey Wright on where the partnership between Batman and Lieutenant Gordon stems from

“What’s at play here is the desperation of two isolated characters under a sea of mistrust in a place like Gotham,” Wright began. “For Gordon, it’s out of utility. For Batman, there’s something within the core of the character that we’ve come to know that he’s honorable– troubled, and all of that– but there’s something honorable there.”

“But I think for Gordon, ‘there’s something very useful about this guy, I’m not quite sure what it is.’ Again it’s early days in the relationship, but when he has so few tools of his own and so few partners of his own that he can trust, it’s really out of a sense of desperation that he says, ‘well, bring him on board.’”

Paul Dano on how he brought this film’s Riddler to life

“I love the idea that you can’t really have Batman without his rogues’ gallery, but I love that you can have this Riddler, without the Batman. I think that the dynamic between them, [in] the storytelling and with the camera, there is some boundary there that I think is beautifully explored.”

“There’s more murkiness to the morality, it’s less just hero and villain, and black and white. There’s not just protecting the status quo, there is something wrong in the city, and it’s really complicated to have a villain who– some of his ideas are not wrong, but the execution is a little off. But I found that to be really complicated and compelling. It’s Batman, it’s Gotham, there are these incredible archetypes at work in its history. But I think the contact with reality in this character, [it comes] from an as emotional and psychological place as possible, but the contact with reality is also what makes it, I think, potentially really scary,” explained the actor.

Catch The Batman in theaters March 4.