The Batmanis finally here and much of the talk has been on Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader, with many fans believing his version of the character now ranks at the top of the best Batman live-action depictions. While it is hard to imagine someone else in the role, director Matt Reeves originally thought Pattinson wouldn’t be interested when the star was cast inTenet.
Tenet, the 2020 mind-bending thriller helmed by formerBatmandirector Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knighttrilogy), starred Pattinson as Neil, the handler of the Protagonist. The role raised many concerns for Reeves when he was preparing to work onThe Batman, as the director had Pattinson in mind when he was writing the script.
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When the Pattinson was cast inTenet, Reeves was devastated, feeling that his goal to see Pattinson don the cape and cowl had failed. “I was aware that he was doingTenet, and I thought that was really cool. In fact, I was a little … Let me tell you how it really affected me,” Reeves told the ReelBlend Podcast. “I wrote the story, I wrote this script with Rob in mind. I wanted him to be my Batman. I had no idea if he was gonna be Batman, and when it was announced that he was cast by Chris inTenet, I was devastated. I was convinced – because he’d been doing all of these art films and he’d been working with all these interesting filmmakers … If he’s gonna do a blockbuster, will it be Batman and would he do more than one?"
Reeves noted that Pattinson joining a film by Nolan, who received acclaim for his ownBatmantrilogy, only added to his concerns. “When he’s doing a blockbuster with one of the definitive Batman filmmakers, I thought, ‘Okay, so there goes that. He’s not gonna want to be Batman,'” the director continued. Luckily, Pattinson was a huge Batman fan, and now seeing what he and Reeves were able to cook up in this new film, it’s hard to picture anything better when it comes totelling aBatmanstory.
The Batmanhas opened up with rave reviewsand even more impressive box office numbers, as the film has now cemented itself as one of, if not THE bestBatmanfilm. A big reason for that, other than the incredible performances, stunning visuals, and assured direction, is the heavy focus on the detective side of Batman, an aspect that was not explored as deeply in previous live-action installments starring the DC hero.The Batman’s story takes place in Bruce Wayne’s/Batman’s second year of fighting crime, as he is forced to deal with corruption and tracking down the Riddler, a serial killer with ties to his tragic past.
With two more sequels in the works along with two spin-off series for HBO Max, one focusing on the Penguin and the other on the GCPD, it will be interesting to see how Reeves and the rest of the team continue expanding this newBatmanuniverse and what other iconic comic book characters and storylines will be featured. Joining Pattinson are stars Paul Dano as the Riddler,Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Peter Sarsgaard as district attorney Gil Colson.
The Batmanis now playing in theaters and will be available to stream on HBO Max on August 02, 2025.
