Why Robert Pattinson Was Cast As The Batman

The Batman director Matt Reeves explains why Robert Pattinson was cast as the next Caped Crusader. Taking over the mantle after Ben Affleck exited the DCEU, there was initial skepticism about the actor and his ability to do the role justice. However, the director and co-writer of the project makes a great point why Pattinson is perfect for the gig, hopefully easing naysayer's worries about the upcoming iteration of the iconic DC hero.

After months of the rigorous casting process, the choice for the next Bat of Gotham went down between Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Both actors reportedly went through screen testing wearing the Batsuit, and not long after news broke out about it, Warner Bros. officially confirmed that the former Harry Potter franchise star has secured the role. At that point, the actor was best known for playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight films which weren't exactly his best acting work, this resulted in some fans getting wary about Warner Bros.' pick to play the titular role in The Batman.

During the film's special DC FanDome panel, one fan asked Reeves what makes Pattinson the best pick to play the Dark Knight in The Batman. The filmmaker cited several reasons, but mainly he chalked it up to his acting range with a string of critically-acclaimed works in the past several years after finishing up his stint as Cullen.

The thing about Robert Pattinson is that he's an incredible actor. I feel like the work that he's done in the last, I don't know, six years, has been incredible. A friend of mine made a movie called The Lost City of Z, and Rob appeared in that movie and I was like 'who is that guy?' Just such charisma, and he, Rob in the movie has this incredible beard and you were like 'who is that' and it's Rob. And Rob in the Rover, and Rob in Good Time, he is like a chameleon...he's just a gifted actor. He's been working on his craft in this really incredible way, and he also happens to be a tremendous, passionate sort of fan of Batman that way that I am and so... it was an incredible thing to be able to connect with him and to share the excitement about the character and to work with him. I mean, you know, he looks like Batman but more than anything, he has the soul of someone I think can play a Batman like you'd never seen before.

Reeves is correct; while Pattinson is still mostly known as the lead of the five-film Twilight series based on Stephanie Meyer's romance fantasy novels, he has since then diversified his portfolio. Over the course of the years, Pattinson has tried different projects which forced him to flex his acting muscles and hone his talent. And if he's going to give the same kind of performance in his more recent projects in The Batman, then fans do not really have anything to worry about. In the meantime, it's only fair to give his version a chance before anyone judges his take on the character.

People are starting to turn around with regard to their initial skepticism of the Pattinson as the new Caped Crusader. The newly-released trailer for The Batman is only helping his cause as the public can actually see what it's like in the role. Based on the general reaction, it seems like the majority is digging his iteration, or at the very least interested to see the entirety of his performance. At this point, that's already a big win considering the initial wave of doubt about his ability to do the role justice in the upcoming project.

More: The Batman Trailer Breakdown: 10 Story & Character Reveals

Source: DC FanDome