- This episode of Nerdist News is sponsored
by Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Why Rob Pattison's Batman casting is more important
than ya think.
It's official, the Bat ink may still be drying
on the Bat contracts but Warner Brothers
is moving forward with Robert Pattison
as the new Batman in the upcoming Matt Reeves Batman trilogy
and while this news may be drawing up a lot of debate
amongst Bat fans online, the casting news
is not as bad as they might initially think.
So before it's all petitions and pitchforks,
let's break down why casting Robert Pattison
as The Dark Knight might be the breath of fresh air
that the franchise needs.
And in case you've been living in a cave,
the future of Batman in DC'S cinematic universe
has been in disarray ever since Ben Affleck,
who played Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman
and Justice League stepped away from the cape and cowl.
Affleck, who walked away from director-writing duties
for the solo outing was still set to reprise the role
after director Matt Reeves came onboard
to take over the project.
However, after some will he or won't he,
he ended up hanging up the mask,
leaving Reeves to find some fresh blood for the project
and leaving everyone speculating
on who might take up the mantle.
So when it was revealed earlier in May
that Twilight's Robert Pattison and X-Men's Nicholas Hoult
were the frontrunners to play Batman,
fans were understandably on the edge of their seats
to see who would land the role.
Now, all of this came to a head on Friday
when the official word revealed that the role
of the world's greatest detective was going to Pattison
for a trilogy of Batman films.
So why could his casting be perfect for the film?
Let's break it down, first up, while this will not be
an origin or a year one story, Matt Reeves
has refocused this version of the Dark Knight
to be a younger Batman who is still in his formative years.
While Robert Pattison is two years older
than Christian Bale was when he was cast to play Batman,
it's not a hard argument to make that Pattison
certainly looks younger and will be able
to fulfill a trilogy without looking
like he's aged too much.
- How long have you been 17?
(Bella exhales)
- Awhile. - Now reportedly,
this trilogy will focus on Batman
as the world's greatest detective.
Now this is an integral part of Batman's mythology
that we haven't really seen on screen before
outside of the bullet fragment sequence in The Dark Knight.
So devoting a whole trilogy to a hard boiled Bruce Wayne
solving crimes in a noir setting will give us a new version
of Batman that still stays rooted in his character.
And if you need a moody/noir actor to fit the bill,
this seems to be right in Pattison's wheelhouse.
Now another rumor cooking on the campfire
is that these films will be playing with all of the villains
who make up Batman's rogue gallery,
and we all know how deeply his villains run
and how iconic some of those characters are.
So how will this work with Pattison?
Well, after his turn as Edward Cullen in Twilight,
Robert Pattison has largely chosen more creative
and artistic roles that have allowed him
to develop and mature his acting skills
in main and more specifically supporting roles.
An example of this is in The Lost City of Z
where he shows off his true strengths as a character actor,
which means he knows how to play well off of others.
Skills that will be immensely important for a trilogy
where Batman has to act against his entire rogues gallery.
And if you're still stuck on the fact
that Pattison played the sparkly vampire Edward Cullen
in the Twilight film series, then you can take solace
in these two points.
One, he has made it clear in interviews
that it was just a job and he hated the movies
and role just as much as we did.
- It's a lot of stuff in the Twilight world
that doesn't make any sense (laughs).
It's like why are they still going to high school?
- And two, look at the reaction to Heath Ledger
being cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
People decried Ledger as just being a teen heartthrob
but he went on to win an Academy Award for the role
as well as creating one of the most iconic versions
of The Joker, and if you're still on the fence,
then we have one more piece of evidence for you.
The Dark Knight trilogy director, Christopher Nolan,
has tapped Robert Pattison for a role
in his next film, Tenet,
of which we know next to nothing about.
But if Robert Pattison has the seal of approval
from both Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves,
then he deserves a shot from us too.
But what do you folks think?
Are you down for Robert Pattison as Batman?
Who would you have picked instead?
And are we ready for a version of Batman as Dracula
since both of them love bats and the night
and capes so much?
Let's discuss.
Thanks again to Godzilla: King of the Monsters
for sponsoring today's episode.
The next chapter of the Monster-verse is here,
pitting Godzilla against some of pop culture's
biggest threats, Mothra, Rodan, and of course,
the three-headed Ghidorah.
With an all-star cast, including Kyle Chandler,
Millie Bobbie Brown, and Bradley Whitford,
Godzilla must face off against these ancient threats
as humanity's very existence hangs in the balance.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is in theaters right now.
(upbeat music)