As was expected, Robert Pattinson being revealed as the titular character in The Batman has inspired passionate reactions on both sides of the aisle. Whereas some embrace the new Caped Crusader – or are cautiously optimistic at the very least – others are seemingly unaware that he’s starred in movies aside from just Twilight.
At the time of this writing, Warner Bros. have yet to issue an official statement regarding the new face of one of their most lucrative film franchises, but if all the major industry trades are reporting that Pattinson got the gig, then he got the gig.
Raising a few eyebrows himself was that of director Matt Reeves, who finally broke his own silence on the matter. In a recent Twitter post, he shared a GIF displaying a rather intense-looking Pattinson accompanied by three bat emojis, which can be viewed below. To me, he looks more like CM Punk than Bruce Wayne in the image, but it’s important we remind ourselves that this particular actor has been selected for a reason.
🦇🦇🦇 pic.twitter.com/2AaQaexvUF
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) June 3, 2019
To expand on that point, let us remind you of how Robert Pattinson actually had to screen test against Nicholas Hoult in order to determine who’d be Gotham City’s new protector just last week. From the sound of it, this was a photo finish of sorts, with Pattinson coming out on top. Believe me, the studio wouldn’t make a huge decision such as this lightly.
Now that the biggest puzzle piece has fallen into place, it’s time for us to anticipate the next major casting moves. Though we’re likely to be introduced to new iterations of Jim Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth during the process, everyone is dying to know who’ll be the villains of the piece. Industry chatter has pointed toward Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman putting in appearances, each of which sound like exciting prospects to me, but time will tell.
The Batman arrives in theaters on June 25th, 2021.