When Robert Pattinson was announced as the new Batman for Matt Reeves' iteration of the iconic DC hero, there was some significant backlash from fans who only knew him for his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight films. However, there are were still a lot of fans who approved the casting since they've seen the actor's massive range of roles that he has done after Twilight in films such as Good Time, Tenet, The Lost City of Z, and The Lighthouse.
Now The Batman is out, Pattinson looked back on the backlash in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times in which he joked that he was a bit underwhelmed by the mockery that he received when the casting was announced. "I was actually mocked less than I usually am. I was quite shocked. ‘Only 70% negative? A-plus!’," he said with a laugh.
The actor also admitted that he himself wouldn't also be the one that he would think who should play Batman, but he worked hard on trying to get the role as he is a fan of the character and would love to work with Reeves. "Even like five years ago, I was the last person I would think would be cast as Batman," he said. "I’m never normally in consideration for superhero parts at all. Usually [in those roles] you’re either a total unknown or someone who just, I don’t know, seems more obvious."
He continued, "I don’t understand what it was about Batman, but I got really fixated on it and kept pushing my agent about it. I loved Matt’s work on the Planet of the Apes movies so much, and a lot of Matt’s work. and I was thinking, if you can get that performance out of a monkey... [laughs] Then I met Matt and just he had such an interesting take on the character, and it just felt very different and kind of dangerous. It felt like a big, big mountain to climb."
Based on the responses from those who have seen the film, it looks like Pattinson was wonderful in the role and proved that he is the right actor to play Batman based on Reeves' vision for the character. Hopefully, this would open the door for more people to watch Pattinson's other films and see that he is just beyond being the Twilight actor and capable of doing a variety of roles.
The negative backlash to casting on a superhero movie is really not new since it has happened before when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman during the late 80s or when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker in The Dark Knight. As evidenced by Keaton, Ledger, and now Pattinson, the studio and the filmmakers made the right decisions on their respective casting and proved to the haters that they are the right actors for those roles.
Also Read: The Batman Director Teases Arkham Asylum Spinoff Series in the Works
The Batman is now showing in theaters everywhere.
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