Former ‘Twilight’ actor Robert Pattinson will be the next Batman — and he's a great choice for the role


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

GOTHAM CITY — After weeks of rumors, it’s official: Former “Twilight” actor Robert Pattinson will be the next actor to portray the Batman, according to Deadline.

Warner Bros. studio executives were torn between Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult for the role but ultimately selected Pattinson, Deadline says.

He will portray the titular Dark Knight in “The Batman,” which is scheduled to be released in 2021, according to IMDb. It’s planned as the first installment in a trilogy of films from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, Deadline reported.

Matt Reeves is set to direct the film. He previously directed “Cloverfield,” as well as “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

Deadline reports that the film will follow Bruce Wayne in his formative years as Gotham’s vigilante hero. It won’t be connected in any way to the Batman films that starred Ben Affleck, including “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” according to Deadline.

Pattinson is best known for playing Edward Cullen in the mega-popular vampire romance franchise “Twilight” alongside Kristen Stewart. He also portrayed Cedric Diggory in another huge mid-2000s film franchise: “Harry Potter.”

The five “Twilight” movies made well over $3 billion at worldwide box offices, but were mostly met with mediocre critical reviews. They’ve become the butt of a joke in the years since they debuted.

Because of that less-than-favorable reputation, many people who are only familiar with Pattinson through his work in the “Twilight” saga have reacted adversely to his casting as Batman.

But those who have explored Pattinson’s post-“Twilight” career should be excited to see the actor take on this superhero role.

Over the past few years, the actor has sought out unexpected movie projects and worked with some of cinema’s most well-respected filmmakers. He has also earned high praise for his acting in some of those projects.

In 2016, he starred in “The Lost City of Z” alongside another young British actor who went on to play a masked marauder: Tom Holland.

The movie is based on the real-life story of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer who went to Brazil’s Amazon rainforest in the 1920s in an attempt to search for a supposed lost ancient city. It was a bust at the box office but earned glowing critical reviews, and it currently holds an 86 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

In 2017, Pattinson starred in “Good Time,” an indie crime thriller from directors Benny and Josh Safdie. The film follows Connie Nikas (Pattinson), a small-time criminal who convinces his mentally disabled brother Nick to rob a bank with him.

They botch the robbery, and Nick gets caught. That night, Connie embarks on a journey through the streets of New York City’s grungy, neon-lit underworld to try to free his brother.

The British Pattinson garnered acclaim for his genuine portrayal of a tried-and-true New Yorker in Connie.

More recently, Pattinson appeared in “High Life,” a raunchy sci-fi space drama directed by French auteur Claire Denis. His co-star in that film is Juliette Binoche, a French actress who herself has worked with a slew of well-respected film directors from across the globe.

Pattinson also will appear in “The Lighthouse,” a period horror film from director Robert Eggers, later this year. The black-and-white film debuted several weeks ago at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Eggers’s only previous film, “The Witch,” was highly acclaimed, with some calling it one of the greatest horror films ever made.

On top of all that, Pattinson also is set to star in “The Souvenir, Part II” with director Joanna Hogg. The first part debuted at Utah's Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and won a coveted Grand Jury Prize.

Pattinson hasn’t quite escaped from under the shadow of the massive vampire franchise for which he became famous years ago, but his recent project selections are promising and show he’s trying hard to make a name for himself beyond “Twilight.”

Most recent Entertainment stories

Related topics

Entertainment

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast