Ever since Ben Affleck retired as Batman at the beginning of the year, fans have been wondering who would play the next version of the Caped Crusader in the DC Extended Universe. All that had been revealed was that it would be someone younger than Affleck and that The Batman director Matt Reeves was looking for someone well known. Well, evidently Twilight star Robert Pattinson was the best man for the job with those qualifications.
Weeks after he was among the rumored actors up for the Batman role, word has come in Robert Pattinson will don the cape and cowl next, with a deal set to close shortly. This makes him the seventh actor to play Batman in a live action theatrical movie, and the second youngest actor to ever bring the character to life in his superhero persona, following Christian Bale. According to Variety, Pattinson has been cast to lead The Batman even as Matt Reeves is still polishing the final draft of the script.
Robert Pattinson is best known for playing Edward Cullen in the five Twilight movies from 2008 to 2012, and his other notable credits include Queen of the Desert, Life (2015), The Lost City of Z and High Life. The Batman marks Pattinson’s second upcoming Warner Bros project, as he’s already set to star alongside John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki in Christopher Nolan’s next movie.
It is worth mentioning that Deadline claims that Nicholas Hoult is still in the running for The Batman, though Robert Pattinson has the edge on the short list. Given that Hoult had already played Beast in four X-Men movies, it’d be nice if Pattinson gets the opportunity to leave his own mark on the superhero genre.
Although The Batman is featuring a younger version of the eponymous protagonist, it will not be an origin story in the vein of Year One. No specific plot details have been revealed yet, but it’s said to be a noir-driven tale that will highlight Bruce Wayne’s detective skills, which haven’t been explored in-depth in previous Batman movies.
As far as villains go, Matt Reeves has said that The Batman will feature a rogues gallery, with Penguin said to be one of the antagonists. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see what kind of stamp Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson put on this 80-year-old character that distinguishes him from past iterations. Production is reportedly scheduled to begin either towards the end of the year or in early 2020 in London.
The Batman will cast its shadow in theaters on June 25, 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, you can learn what other DC movies are on the way by looking through our comprehensive guide.
