Robert Pattinson’s Casting As Batman, For A Trilogy Of Films, Is Official
Earlier this month, Variety reported that Robert Pattinson was the choice as the next actor to play Batman on the big screen. Deadline reported later that night that while Pattinson was a front-runner, Nicholas Hoult also had a shot, per The Inquisitr.
Now, per Deadline, Pattinson officially has the part after approval came from Warner Brothers. The former Twilight star will play the Caped Crusader, and Bruce Wayne, too, in The Batman, to be directed by Matt Reeves.
Pattinson is on board for a trilogy of films as Batman, and it’s unclear if any of them are crossovers with other DC Extended Universe superheroes.
The Deadline report said that the film “tracks Bruce Wayne in the formative stages of Batman,” and that this Batman will not “carry on the work” of the superhero as played by Ben Affleck in recent DCEU films.
The Batman was originally conceived as the first standalone Batman movie to star Affleck, who played Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League. Affleck was also going to direct the film, but he eventually dropped out and announced earlier this year that he was done playing Batman.
Reeves, who has directed Let Me In as well as two Planet of the Apes movies, has been on board as the director of The Batman since mid-2017, but the film is now on track to move forward. Reeves said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 that his vision for the Batman movies was “an almost noir-driven detective version of Batman,” although it’s unknown if that’s still the long-term plan for the character.
Warner Bros Approves Robert Pattinson For ‘The Batman’ https://t.co/pQtdikU4yw pic.twitter.com/qHDWZm1Y3C
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 31, 2019
It’s unclear who the villain will be in the film or who else might be cast in other roles. Joker, the film about the famous Batman villain which will star Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, is set for release this October. A sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman is scheduled to arrive in June of 2020.
The 32-year-old Pattinson is the youngest actor ever cast to play Batman. The role has been played in high-profile movies by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Affleck.
Pattinson, since the days of Twilight, has emerged as a respected actor in independent films, including this spring’s sci-fi film High Life from director Claire Denis. He’s also set for a 2020 film from Christopher Nolan, another former director of Batman films.
The Batman has a scheduled release date of June 25, 2021.
