The headline says it all, huh folks?
Variety is reporting that Robert Pattinson is in final negotiations to play Batman in Matt Reeves’s The Batman. The film, which still doesn’t have a final script, will hit theaters on June 25, 2021 and will obviously be focused on a younger Batman. Many names have been tossed around as a possible Batman, including Pattinon’s, for some time. It now seems that Reeves has made his final choice. Time to start picturing him in the famous cape and cowl.
And it promises to be quite a controversial one, I’m sure. While Pattinson has solidified his indie credentials over the last few years, many still see him as the vampire heartthrob from Twilight. Pattinson has since done a lot to shed himself of that characterization and critics have really taken to his work in his last few films. The guy is Edward Cullen no more. In fact, his next role will be in Christopher Nolan’s next film. Maybe he can take a few pointers from him…
Taking on Batman will grant Pattinson a whole new set of fans and, of course, criticism. I don’t have to tell you that many take this character quite seriously (including yours truly). Like anyone cast in a superhero film, he will be met with backlash and acclaim. He obviously has the backing of Matt Reeves and Warner Brothers and that should count the most.
Personally I’m totally on board with Pattinson because 1) he’s a fine actor and shouldn’t be held back because he happened to star in a super popular teen series and 2) it gives us a better idea of what Reeves has in mind for his take on the dark knight. Many have suggested that The Batman will be more of a dark detective film, noirish in nature. I can absolutely see Pattinson slipping into that sort of film and taking Batman in that direction. Plus, just based on his looks and persona you can see him pulling off the morose, moody and often violent nature of Bats.
But I’m sure you will be hearing a lot of fan boys freak out over the casting of Pattinson. They’ll say he’s too much of a pretty boy, he’s too mopey, he’s Edward from Twilight. To them I say calm down and that you need to judge actors based on their work, not on what they did long ago at the start of their careers. Actors, like all of us, mature and grow and change. In fact, I can vividly remember a certain young actor, once known only as a generic teenage sex symbol, who ended up blowing audiences away with his performance in a comic book film.
His name was Heath Ledger.