News broke last night that Robert Pattinson is in talks to be the latest actor to play Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Fans are already up in arms about the left-field casting choice – just as they were about Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, Ben Affleck, etc. – but it seems that “Battinson” isn’t a done deal yet, as there’s another British actor still in the running for the lucrative part.
Shortly following Variety’s initial report of Pattinson’s hiring, Deadline changed the story somewhat by clarifying that the 29-year-old star has yet to finalize his deal with Warner Bros. According to them, he remains the frontrunner for the next Batman, but X-Men‘s Nicholas Hoult, who can currently be seen in cinemas in the title role in biopic Tolkien, is another favorite of both Reeves and studio execs.
This has also been corroborated by The Hollywood Reporter, who reveal that both Armie Hammer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson – yet another Brit! – round out the studio’s selection of maybe-Batmans. All signs point to Pattison being the top pick, however, so it sounds like it’s his to lose.
Pattinson has been connected to the production for a while now, so that partially softened the shock of the one-time Twilight heartthrob potentially playing the Dark Knight. However, many diehard Bat-fans still reacted negatively to the reports, even starting up a petition to get him removed from the movie and replaced.
As mentioned above, though, many of the most acclaimed performers in the Batman franchise were hated when they were first announced. The previous filmmakers were proven right in their choices though so any dissenters should maybe learn from past mistakes and trust that Reeves has found the perfect Caped Crusader for his particular take on the iconic DC hero. Whether it turns out to be Pattinson or not.
The Batman is expected to shoot later this year or possibly in early 2020, and as soon as we hear of official confirmation on who’ll be starring, we’ll be sure to let you know.