Here's what Robert Pattinson brings to Gotham City as Batman
When it was reported Friday that Robert Pattinson would play Batman in an upcoming film directed by Matt Reeves, the news left the world in an absolute shocker. But it would be unfair to judge the 33-year-old Englishman solely on 'Twilight'. Clearly, he has come a long way. He followed up 'Twilight' with a slew of acclaimed films such as 'Cosmopolis' and 'The Rover', a bloody revenge thriller.
Then came the opportunity to work with James Gray on the adaptation of 'The Lost City of Z'. Adding to this solid CV is his appearance alongside John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki in Christopher Nolan's upcoming, untitled project.
In 'The Dark Knight Rises', Joseph-Gordon Levitt, who plays a rookie cop, famously calls Bale's character, "Bruce Wayne: Billionaire Orphan." And Bale essayed Wayne's role as an eccentric billionaire to perfection despite going on to say he "didn’t quite nail it". But the audience, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the jacked up Welshman who drove a Black Lamborghini in the morning and hunted criminals in his batmobile at night in the movie.
After three successful outings, Ben Affleck, much to the world's chagrin, was announced to play the next Batman and to some degree brought in the gruffness under the mask. Affleck had donned the cape in two outings, and in all honesty, was the sole bright spot in the otherwise dull-as-dishwater 'Dawn of Justice' and 'Justice League'.
What Bale did was force people to take superhero movies seriously and crucially never overplayed the character. In fact, he was the perfect foil for Heath Ledger's Joker. Affleck bought in the Bat's look eerily similar to the comics.
Much of Bale's Batman was about using some smart gadgets, while Batfleck threw in those punches that would make people wince. Plus, he managed to portray the grief, guilt and pain Wayne carried over the years successfully on-screen.
Over to Pattinson now. It's not hard to imagine him dressed in an impeccably tailored Tom Ford and driving a Rolls at some point in the movie. Also, if the movie happens to be an origin story, his boyish looks come in handy when it comes to playing the pre-Bat-Wayne days. And seriously, going by the last few performances he's dished out, playing Batman doesn't really seem that bad a prospect at all.
The only prerequisite director Reeves had was that he wanted someone relatively younger to play the character. Bale was 31 when he was signed up to play the caped crusader, and Pattinson, 33, most definitely has the looks and the coy attitude to pull off a younger Wayne.
Reeves wanted to bring in a gen-next Bat who would not just shine in some epic action sequences, but also bring out that pained emotion, something Bale couldn't quite get in the final installment, 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Going by Reeves' choice, it looks like he believes Pattinson fits the bill and can do justice to the role.
Most importantly, Pattinson will bring in something new and unexpected to the role. After all, he's played a few unconventional characters so far in some of his movies and that has pretty much been the route DC Extended Universe has tried attempting with 'Aquaman' and Joaquin Phoenix's 'Joker'. Not to forget, Pattinson also lends commercial appeal.
The next time we see Batman will be in 2021 and that gives Pattinson some good prep time. He does have the ability and enough inspiration from Bale and Affleck, but only time will tell if he can pull it off.
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