After seeing Matt Reeves’ new take on Gotham City in The Batman, my personal favorite actor to portray the Caped Crusader is… well, still Kevin Conroy, but the new blockbuster is my new favorite of the live-action Batman movies. However, a major component as to why I love the movie so much is the passionate, layered lead performance by Robert Pattinson, who caused quite a stir on the internet when he was first cast as Bruce Wayne. He killed it in the coveted role (not literally, of course, as that would be against Batman's rules), which now makes me wonder: what could Pattinson do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Now, to be clear, I am extremely excited to see what more he does as Batman in upcoming DC movies, and I hope he is able to hold onto the role for as long as he wishes. However, my amusement at how he approached the character has, admittedly, made me curious about what other comic book heroes (or villains) he might be a good fit to bring to life in any new Marvel movies. Plus, imagining our favorite actors as Marvel characters is just too much fun. We'll start with a character who bears a certain similarity to his other most iconic movie role.
Hannibal King
Long before he earned the respect of comic book fans around the world (and many critics, too), Robert Pattinson became an instant household name after joining the Twilight cast as Edward Cullen, the vampiric male lead of the Stephenie Meyer adaptation. By since starring in grittier, more grounded films like Good Time or, of course, The Batman, it seems that he has taken steps to move on from that pivotal chapter of his life. However, I think he might want to reconsider abandoning it completely because revisiting his days as a bloodsucker would lead to a great opportunity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It is commonly known among fans of the Marvel movies that Kevin Feige and company are rebooting the Blade movies with Mahershala Ali in the title role of a human who uses his natural abilities similar to a vampire to hunt creature. One ally of his who happens to (begrudgingly) be a full-blooded vampire himself is Hannibal King, who was previously portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the 2003 movie Blade: Trinity. King is a character we would like to see return to the big screen in the upcoming reboot and someone of Pattinson’s experience as a former vampire actor would surely nail the part.
Baron Blood
On second thought, maybe the idea of playing a man who hates the fact that he is a vampire would hit a little too close to home for Robert Pattinson. So, instead, why not cast him as somebody who actually relishes in being a creature of night and uses his bizarre abilities for malicious intent? If the actor were interested in this sort of idea, there is also a perfect opportunity lying in Marvel Comics with Baron Blood.
John Falsworth is a British nobleman who was originally born during the Victorian Era and would come to be known as Baron Blood after a bite from none other Count Dracula himself. The German Army would later enlist his supernatural abilities to help in their efforts for supremacy during both World Wars and other notable conflicts throughout history – which is just one reason why this fascinating Marvel monster would certainly be worth including in the aforementioned Blade reboot. If so, I think Robert Pattinson would be someone worth considering and, not to mention, it would be an interesting turning point to see him play a villain.
Druid
I would not be surprised if Robert Pattinson had no intention or interest in ever playing a vampire of any kind ever again. However, maybe he would be open to revisiting another sort of fantasy character he portrayed in what would actually be his first starring role in a feature film: the young wizard Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. If returning to the Wizarding World was ever something he had considered despite his character’s unfortunate fate, a potential solution could lie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One of Marvel’s earlier mystical fantasy characters was a psionic monster-hunter named Doctor Druid, who was much later revealed to have had a son named Sebastian, who also goes by his last name. After discovering that his magical powers actually originated from DNA that matched the sort of creatures his father preyed upon, he came to Doctor Strange to help him understand his abilities better. Without giving too much away about Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the former Sorcerer Supreme’s inner circle is starting to expand and Druid is such a character who also would be cool to see join the franchise, especially with someone of Pattinson’s talent in the role.
Major Victory
One of Robert Pattinson’s more recent and, especially, underrated credits is in director Claire Denis’ bizarre 2018 drama High Life. He stars in the A24-produced sci-fi flick as a man named Monte, who is one of several criminals who participate in an experiment in human reproduction on an isolated commune in deep space. If he enjoyed working in a cosmic environment and were ever curious about revisiting that world, the Marvel Universe is chock full of options.
For instance, there is Vance Astro, who is better know as Major Victory: the original leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy from when the group debuted in 1969. Of course, it should be noted that most of this psychokinetic space traveler’s “victories” should be credited to his Adamantium-laced, symbiotic suit that stunts his aging process. Considering that James Gunn’s upcoming sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will likely be the last we see of the titular heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps this could be a fun new addition to the franchise's cosmic line-up and Pattinson could really make him someone to root for.
Wolverine
You know what? It seems to me that Robert Pattinson is really the kind of actor who would rather avoid repeating himself and has no interest in playing anymore vampires or any other magic-wielding characters, either. Yet, that being said, he is going to be leading another Batman movie in the next few years, so perhaps vengeful, brooding, morally tortured vigilantes is the exception to the rule. In that case, why not be the one to revive another fan-favorite comic book character with those essential qualities on the big screen, but for the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
It was actually not just his performance in The Batman, but also Pattinson’s physicality that convinced me he would be good choice to succeed Hugh Jackman for the role of Wolverine. I am not the first person to imagine what this would look like either and I think that is enough evidence to prove that he deserves a shoat at the adamantium-clawed mutant when Marvel Studios reboots the X-Men movies. Either him or his former Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe would be perfect, as far as I am concerned.
This is one of the first times I have conducted one of these hypothetical comic book movie casting sessions and feel completely at ease with the likelihood that the celebrity in question will never play any of these characters. Why? Like I said before, Robert Pattinson is a damn good Batman, but it is still fun to play pretend, eh?
