Twilight's Robert Pattinson to play lead in The Batman

Sources tell Variety that Robert Pattinson will play Batman in Matt Reeves' forthcoming superhero film, which hits theatres June 25, 2021 in the US. 

Pre-production on the Warner Bros. DC Comics film The Batman is expected to start this northern summer.

Reeves, the filmmaker behind the last two Planet of the Apes sequels, assumed Batman directing duties from Ben Affleck in January 2017 and has been developing the elusive project ever since.

The Twilight star has been cast as the latest Caped Crusader.
CARLOS ALVAREZ/GETTY
The Twilight star has been cast as the latest Caped Crusader.

Affleck and Warner Bros. began discussing the actor-director leaving the Caped Crusader behind following Justice League, allowing Reeves to pick his own Bruce Wayne.

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Reeves will produce The Batman with his Planet of the Apes collaborator Dylan Clark.

Pattinson was cast even as Reeves continues to polish a final version of the script.

A former Twilight heart-throb who has successfully turned to art house fare, Pattinson, 32, becomes the youngest actor to ever play Batman on the big screen.

Warner Bros., in giving Reeves plenty of time to develop the script, is hoping the latest iteration of the DC icon is done right, following the disappointments of Batman v Superman and Justice League.

No official start date has been set for The Batman. Insiders tell Variety filming could start in late 2019 or early 2020.

Pattinson has four films opening this year, beginning with Claire Denis' High Life.

He also appears in Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, which bows at the Cannes Film Festival, The King for Netflix and Waiting for the Barbarians.

 

Reuters