If you would've told me ten years ago that Robert Pattinson would be playing The Batman, I'd probably have a bigger meltdown than I did when they announced Spider-Man 4 was canceled. But a lot can change in ten years. Since then, we've seen Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy come to a close, Ben Affleck go through hell when he was cast but still get to play the character in our first Justice League movie, and see the whole cycle begin again. And while all that craziness was going on with Batman on the big screen, Robert Pattinson was quietly shedding away his Twilight image and becoming a very respectable actor. When fans first suggested his name for Batman it as much criticism as one would expect, but those who have seen his work in movies like High Life and Good Time know what he's really capable of.
While Variety (A very trust worthy source) has stood by their initial announcement that Pattinson has already been cast, its worth noting Deadline and THR claim that still isn't the case. Deadline has stated Pattinson is the frontrunner, but has some competition from X-Men: Dark Phoenix star Nicholas Hoult. THR reiterates Pattinson is the frontrunner, but has added that not only is the role still up for grabs, but apparently Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron) are still in the running alongside Pattinson and Hoult. With all these conflicting reports its hard to tell right now which one is the most accurate, but it seems most sites are sticking to Pattinson being a lock for the role.
Like I stated above, most of these names have all been rumored and suggested by fans for months now, so there hasn't been a choice that's been out of left field. Hammer has had his name rumored for just about every DC role at this point, and there was even a false report a few months ago that Reeves had cast him. Taylor-Johnson and Hoult on the other hand both have their fair share of experience with superhero roles, but with their time in those parts now having come to an end their schedules are more than clear. With the current future of DCEU still up in the air, and Henry Cavill's return to the role of Superman not seeming likely, its possibly we could see any of these three actors names come up as replacements now that they're obviously on Warner Bros. radar.
But funnily enough, Pattinson seems like just the type of actor Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) would want. We know the movie probably will have little connection to the DC universe in the way Affleck's did, and will be a more detective style Batman story like we've never seen before on screen. There was also of course the emphasis to go for a younger Batman, specifically when the 46 year old Affleck left the project completely. Reeves wanted an actor between the 26-33 range to show us a young Bruce Wayne, and at 33, Pattinson just makes the cut. Pattinson's next project will coincidentally be a role in Christopher Nolan next film, the man who brought us arguably the best Batman movies of all time. If he approves of Pattinson enough to cast him as one of his leads, fans of The Dark Knight trilogy should be confident in this casting choice.
So what do you think of Robert Pattinson as Batman? Would you have preferred one of the other actors on the shortlist? Let us know below!
