Robert Pattinson Cast as the New Batman Over Nicholas Hoult

Robert Pattinson has won his first fight as the Dark Knight: getting the part!

Warner Bros. was reportedly torn between giving the part to Pattinson or Nicholas Hoult for Matt Reeves' upcoming film The Batman. An insider told Deadline that meetings were held at the studio yesterday, requiring the actors to audition on camera, and that the decision was made later in the day.

Deadline also reported that Pattinson had been the frontrunner for director Reeves’ new film because the director liked him, but that the studio was torn between him and Hoult as the face of the franchise.

The first of the new Batman films in a series which is now reported to be a trilogy, is set to be released summer of 2021. Reeves, who directed movies such as the Planet of the Apes remakes and the 2008 thriller Cloverfield, is taking a different approach to the films than the previous director, Zack Snyder (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). Reeves’ Batman trilogy will track Bruce Wayne’s formative years, which is why he wanted someone who is in their early 30s, rather Ben Affleck’s more mature Batman.

Though Affleck is passing the torch to the next generation, he tweeted about his excitement for the new movies back in January.

Pattinson is a good choice for the film, as he has been a part of cult franchise before, gaining substantial popularity as Edward Cullen in the Twilight films based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer. Since his catapult into stardom, Pattinson has branched out from teen heartthrob roles, starring in movies such as the Safdie Brothers' Good Time (2017), and more recently in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse alongside Willem Dafoe, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, proving himself worthy to act with the best of the best.

We are excited to see what Pattinson brings to role of the Caped Crusader!