Fans continue to get more and more excited with each casting announcement for The Batman. Nearly everyone loved hearing that Zoe Kravitz would be taking on the role of Catwoman, as well as the news that Jeffrey Wright is the next Commissioner Jim Gordon. That streak of positive reactions continued with today’s reports that Paul Dano will be the Riddler as well. But out of all of the many big names set to star in this movie, only one drew a visceral reaction from the public: Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame.
Unfortunately for those dissatisfied fans, the 33-year-old just so happens to be playing the titular character. That hasn’t stopped naysayers from vocalizing their disgust online and though the backlash hasn’t been as visceral as some other recent casting choices, it’s still been a pretty mixed bag. Younger viewers seem to approve of the decision more than their older counterparts, but overall the feedback has been pretty mixed.
Pattinson recently revealed that he “anticipated a vitriolic reaction online” after the casting was announced, at least partially due to his association with the Twilight series, saying:
“Maybe I’m just used to abuse by now. At least I didn’t get death threats this time — that’s a plus! It’s funny that people are so very angry about Twilight. I never particularly understood it.”
The vampire franchise helped launch both his and Kristen Stewart’s careers years ago, so there’ll probably always be a soft spot in his heart for those movies. Though all of the installments were extremely successful at the box office, they were also frequently mocked by those outside of the fandom.
Pattinson has since tried to distance himself from the series with roles that show off his acting ability and even though he doesn’t understand all of the hatred towards Twilight, he’s been handling the criticism pretty well. Hopefully he’ll be an amazing Bruce Wayne and therefore silence everyone who doubted him.
