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SYFY WIRE Robert Pattinson

It's official, Robert Pattinson will be the next Batman

By Josh Weiss
Robert Pattinson

Two weeks ago, news broke that Robert Pattinson was closing in on the role of Bruce Wayne for Matt Reeves' The Batman, which arrives next summer. Today, things became official as the Twilight star was approved and signed on for the role by Warner Bros.

Yesterday, things were still unclear over who would get the part. Per a tweet from Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap, Pattinson was continuing to compete against Nicholas Hoult (Tolkien, Dark Phoenix), both of whom were screen-testing for the studio.

Despite his star-making role as Edward Cullen, Pattinson has actually shied away from major studio projects over the last few years, carving out a comfortable niche in the indie world with much smaller roles and films, some of them falling within the world of genre. For example, the actor recently appeared in Claire Denis's trippy sci-fi movie, High Life, as a single father raising his daughter in outer space.

High Life Robert Pattinson

"It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," Reeves said of The Batman back in January. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation."

The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director basically removed all doubt over the casting on Sunday when he tweeted out a .gif of Patterson with three bat emojis. 

The Batman will open in theaters on June 25, 2020. Pre-production is slated to begin this summer.

(via Variety)