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Robert Pattinson Staying Away From Marvel Helped Him Get Batman Role

Robert Pattinson recently convinced Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. executives that he's the perfect choice to portray the titular character in  The Batman. While many actors get roles due to their performances in past movies, part of the reason the Twilight star landed the part was because of a notable absence in his filmography: any association with Marvel.

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Robert Pattinson recently convinced Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. executives that he’s the perfect choice to portray the titular character in The Batman. While many actors get roles due to their performances in past movies, part of the reason the Twilight star landed the part was because of a notable absence in his filmography: any association with Marvel.

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Warner Bros. reportedly seeks out stars who’ve not yet wiggled their way into the MCU. The logic is to keep the two entities as separate as possible and not confuse audiences, who may attribute a particular actor to the brand they’re most known for starring in. The studio therefore wants fresh faces to anchor their most prominent roles, rather than seeking out those who’ve already been tied to Marvel.

This, of course, is easier said than done. Nowadays, it seems that every big name has at least a small part in DC’s rival’s expansive universe. Thankfully, though, Pattinson is not one of those people.

Nicholas Hoult, who also was a finalist to play Bruce Wayne, isn’t technically one, either. While he may have starred in four X-Men films, none of them were a part of the MCU. Additionally, Hoult was virtually unrecognizable under all of that makeup as Beast. It’s unlikely that the actor didn’t get the Batman role simply because of his Marvel affiliation in the past, but it certainly helped that Pattinson had no relation to those movies whatsoever.

While many A-listers can be found in an Avengers film, there are still plenty more who can be tapped in supporting roles alongside Pattinson. For example, Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Gad could be snagged to play the roles of Catwoman and Penguin, respectively. That is, unless Warner Bros. wants to stop casting all actors associated with the Disney brand in general. If that ever becomes the case, then the pickings will be extremely slim.

Regardless, Pattinson certainly seems to have benefitted from the studio’s aversion from Marvel actors. Though it isn’t the sole reason he was able to lock down the role of Batman, it surely didn’t hurt.