The great debate between Batman and Robert Pattinson has resulted in millions of dollars in prizes, a bestselling book, and countless articles and podcasts. Now, the heated competition is being made into a film with Warner Bros. hiring Robert Downey Jr. to play the iconic crime fighter and Pattinson to play Batman.
But, who should play the Caped Crusader? According to the poll results, it seems the world may never know. Here are the results of the poll.
Who Should Play Batman In The Movie?
Despite his age (56), Robert Downey Jr. still tops the list as the most popular choice for Batman in Warner Bros.’ planned film. 69% of voters said they would like to see the actor take on the role, while 15% said they’d like to see Christian Bale return. 5% of respondents didn’t care either way, and the remaining 11% didn’t know.
Not only is Downey Jr. the most popular choice for Batman, he’s also the only actor named by at least half of respondents. A huge 69% of people said they’d like to see the actor in the role, while only 11% would like to see Christian Bale back and 10% didn’t care either way. The remaining 15% didn’t know. This represents an increase in interest from the previous Batman poll, where 67% of respondents said they wanted to see Christian Bale play Batman, and 13% said they wanted to see Robert Downey Jr. play the role. 10% of voters didn’t know then either.
What About The Other Options?
Other notable contenders for the Batman role included Ben Affleck, who topped the list with 22% of the vote. 22% also chose him as their second choice. This follows Affleck’s announcement that he would no longer play the role, citing creative differences with the studio. It also marks an increase from the previous year’s Batman poll, where 17% of respondents named Affleck as their first choice and 7% named him as their second choice. 55% didn’t know who they would prefer to see play Batman then, and 10% didn’t know.
This year’s poll also saw a slight increase in the number of respondents who said they would like to see Gerard Depardieu play Batman. The French actor and director was named by 12% of the voters as their second choice, while 7% chose him as their first choice. 54% of voters didn’t know who they would prefer to see play Batman, and 16% didn’t know.
Two other recognizable names were named as Batman by only 1% of the respondents. These were Jeff Bridges and Michael Keaton, who were each named by only 1% of respondents as their first and second choices respectively. 53% didn’t know who they would prefer to see play Batman, and 14% didn’t know.
Which Role Should Ben Affleck Play In The Motion Picture?
In addition to being the most popular choice among voters for Batman, Ben Affleck was also named the most suitable actor to play the role of Dick Grayson in Warner Bros.’ film. 36% of respondents chose the actor to portray the Blue Beetle, while 33% said they wanted to see someone else play the role. 26% didn’t know who they would prefer to see play the role, and 11% didn’t know.
An interesting trend here is the increase in respondents who said they aren’t sure who should play which role. In 2017, 67% weren’t sure, and in 2016, 58% were also not sure. In contrast, 25% of respondents said they knew for sure who should play which part. The percentages remained relatively stable in 2019, where 25% of voters weren’t sure and 26% said they knew. This represents a change in sentiment from previous years, where the numbers were higher in favor of not being certain about who should play which role. This could indicate that people are beginning to realize the importance of reading the script before the role is cast, something that veteran scripter Andrew Leonard has advocated for.
What About The Other Roles?
A number of recognizable names were named elsewhere in the cast of Warner Bros.’ planned film. The most notable being John Cusack, who was named by 4% of the respondents as the Caped Crusader. The actor has previously played the role in the 1968 film, Bobo, and has also appeared in many other films, such as The Matador, The Conformist, and The Paperboy. However, it is widely known that Cusack is over fifty years old, a substantial age difference from the target audience for this type of film. Nevertheless, this represents an increase from the previous year’s Batman poll, where 3% of respondents named Cusack as the Caped Crusader. 56% didn’t know who they would want to see play the role, and 13% didn’t know.
The other roles named by voters included Gordon Holmes, a character named after the real-life Sherlock Holmes; Lucius Fox, named after the Oscar-winning filmmaker and co-writer of the original Blade Runner; and a character named Carl Reiner, after the television writer and producer. These were all named by 2% of respondents.
Overall Results
Considering all of the above, it seems that despite all the attention that the Batman vs. Robert Pattinson rivalry has received, the general public still doesn’t know who should play the role of Batman in the upcoming film by Warner Bros. Despite this, the poll results have proven to be quite revealing, and interesting trends can be observed.
While John Cusack isn’t exactly a household name, nor is he a particularly well-known entity in film circles, it seems he may be the perfect choice to play the role of the Caped Crusader. Not only does he fit the description in terms of age (Cusack is 58 years old), but he has also played the role of Sherlock Holmes in the film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, and has also appeared in other films such as The Godfather Part II and Three Days of Rain. This makes Cusack the perfect choice to play the role of the Dark Knight, and there is no denying that the Sherlock Holmes connection is quite a draw for anyone who has ever enjoyed Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.
As for the rest of the candidates, it seems that based on the poll results, the general public isn’t quite sure who should play which role. This could be due to the fact that most of the characters featured in the film will be new to most people, or it could also be that the general public doesn’t know who would fit the roles best. Whatever the case may be, it seems that Warner Bros. has their work cut out for them in terms of casting, as no one person seems to fit the description of the entire film’s cast.