After weeks of rumors, Warner Bros. has approved Robert Pattinson (Twilight, Remember Me, High Life, The Lighthouse) as the star of The Batman, the trilogy of films that Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Planet of the Apes) will direct later this year, Deadline confirms today.
Pattinson has always been Reeves' first choice, while the studio was torn between him and Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), but Pattinson is officially "the guy" and negotiations are expected to begin soon.
I've seen a lot of people trashing the decision to cast the teenage heartthrob from Twilight as Batman, but I do feel Pattinson has grown tremendously as an actor in recent years, and need I remind you of the outrage over the casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker? Reeves has proven himself to be a very skilled filmmaker and if he thinks Pattinson is perfect for the new Batman, then I'm all for it.
Rumors of the film's antagonists have also been circulating, with THR's Heat Vision newsletter claiming we'll be seeing Penguin and Catwoman.
"Matt Reeves is still tweaking his script, which is rumored to have at least two villains, the Penguin being one of them, according to sources (one person is telling us there will be around half-a-dozen villains!). We’re hearing of another purrfect character making an appearance in the script as well."
Pre-production on The Batman is expected to begin this Summer.
The Batman is set to hit theaters on June 25th, 2021
