Earlier this month word leaked that 33-year-old English actor Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame was the front-runner for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in writer/director Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Now Deadline has confirmed that Warner Bros. has approved Pattinson for the film, which will be the first of a planned trilogy.
Another Englishman, Tolkien and Dark Phoenix star Nicholas Hoult, was a heavy runner-up for the role. He made a dueling audition tape to Pattinson’s. Although the studio liked both actors, Reeves’ preference apparently was for Pattinson, who has the Cannes film The Lighthouse opening later this year and will next co-star in Tenet for previous Batman filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Reeves’ film will feature a younger Batman, a major reason behind former Batman star Ben Affleck vacating the role, and will have a film noir tone focusing more on the character’s detective abilities.
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Since his breakout role in the Twilight films, Pattinson has largely stayed away from blockbuster films. His credits include Maps to the Stars, Queen of the Desert, Life, The Lost City of Z and Good Time. More recently, Pattinson starred in High Life, a sci-fi/horror film that saw release earlier this year.
Reeves (Cloverfield, Apes franchise) will write and direct The Batman, produced by Dylan Clark (War for the Planet of the Apes) and should hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Now that the title role is settled, other casting announcements should quickly follow. The film may begin pre-production this summer.
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