The dilemma of dealing with a fandom that’s invested in an iconic pop culture figure is a story as old as the medium itself. It’s hardly surprising, then, to hear that The Batman actor Robert Pattinson, who’s set to portray the titular character in Matt Reeves’ origin film, feels much the same way as all his predecessors.
Still, we’d be lying if we said the decision to cast the Twilight star wasn’t going to be controversial. It’s not the fact that Pattinson can’t rise to the challenge of taking on the Caped Crusader, mind you. After all, the English talent has proved his mettle time and again by appearing in several highly acclaimed independent flicks since the days of playing the edgy vampire Edward Cullen. Be that as it may, though, I think we can all agree that in terms of expectations, he’d be one of the last people whom diehard fans would nominate to portray the next Dark Knight.
For the actor himself, this may very well have been the opportunity of a lifetime, but he’s apparently met the stingy end of that double-edged sword. In a recent chat with the Fresh Air radio show, Battinson opened up about how fans easily take offense whenever he talks about the World’s Greatest Detective, saying:
“Well, it’s funny, like, doing – I’ve done so many movies where, you know, I play these sort of partially monstrous characters. And whenever I’ve been promoting them, you know, normally, no one cares what you say about it. And I’ve just noticed every single time I say one sentence about Batman, there’s this massive – I’m offending swathes of Batman fans.”
The Tenet star went on to note that since there have been so many versions of the character, this makes his job much easier to bear.
“But, I mean, it’s kind of – I mean, the interesting thing about Batman itself is that you can basically – it’s been played in so many different ways. The comics cover so much ground. The movies cover so much ground. I mean, if you’re going on the kind of – if you’re trying to play a historically accurate Batman, you could literally play anything. So I guess it’s kind of what Matt Reeves is directing and kind of wants to go for.”
It’s quite normal for fans to hold their reservations about the upcoming pic, but whether we like it or not, Pattinson is the next Dark Knight. And for many years at that if the first movie turns out to be a success.
What are your predictions about The Batman, though? And do you think the skeptics will grow to love this particular iteration of the character as they did with Batfleck and Baleman? Sound off below.