Robert Pattinson has said it has been “quite strange” getting used to having male fans after his breakthrough years with the Twilight series.
Pattinson is currently in the middle of a publicity tour for Mickey 17, the forthcoming sci-fi film by Bong Joon-ho.
The topic of Twilight, his breakout 2008 vehicle, has been brought up numerous times during the tour. In January, the actor railed against people who have approached him angry about the film, a wildly-successful adaptation of the 2005 book of the same name.
“Are you still stuck on that shit? How can you be sad about something that happened almost 20 years ago? It’s crazy,” he said in a GQ Spain interview. He also told the New York Times that a stranger once asked why he stopped acting after appearing in the Twilight franchise, despite his career amassing leading roles in 2020’s Tenet and 2022’s The Batman.
Last week, Pattinson attended the London premiere of Mickey 17, and he remarked to Associated Press journalist Sian Watson about the fan turnout at the event.
“It’s quite strange,” Pattinson told Watson. “There’s like a bunch of guys, which is a new one for me!” Watch his reaction below.
The actor shot to fame as vampire Edward Cullen in the five-film Twilight franchise, making him a teen heartthrob in the process. Pattinson’s notoriety was boosted by his romantic relationship with his co-star Kristen Stewart – who portrayed Bella Swan in the films and with whom he shared a relationship between 2009 and 2012.
Since then, Pattinson has accrued lead roles in both critically-acclaimed A24 fare like 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s The Lighthouse, along with The Batman, which saw him don the Batsuit to portray a young Bruce Wayne.
Mickey 17 is the highly-anticipated follow up by Bong, whose 2019 film Parasite won the Oscar for Best Picture.
The film was recently delayed by three months, moving from its January 31 release to April 18, 2025.
Pattinson’s upcoming project The Batman 2 has also been delayed. Last month, it was announced that the much-anticipated sequel had been pushed back another year, with a new release date of October 1, 2027. Pattinson recently suggested that it will commence filming later this year.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn defended the now five-year gap between the two films, saying such a gap between films is “fairly common”.