When the news broke that Robert Pattinson had been cast to star as the legendary caped crusader in the upcoming DC Films film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, fans of the Dark Knight immediately began to speculate about the actor’s mysterious new persona as well as his intriguing connection to the Man of Steel. Is this just a case of mistaken identity or is Pattinson actually playing the part of a different character? Are these simply the actions of a bored socialite or has he truly found his Niche? As it turns out, the truth is far more intriguing than mere fan-service, as Pattinson’s involvement with Batman and Man of Steel might just surprise you!
The Many Faces Of Robert Pattinson
Before we get into the juicy bits, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit some of Robert Pattinson’s most memorable roles. It’s always instructive to take a trip down memory lane and see which roles were most significant to the actor’s development as a person and an artist. In the following brief biographies, you’ll learn a bit about Pattinson’s background and how he became involved in the first place with Batman and Man of Steel. Prepare to be surprised!
The Twilight Saga (2012-2015)
If you’re not familiar, the Twilight Saga is one of the most popular film franchises of all time. Starring Bella Swan and her entourage of undead friends, the Twilight films were quite lucrative, grossing over $11 billion worldwide. The Twilight films introduced a whole new generation to the joys of vampire fiction, making them the most successful entry in Summit Entertainment’s over 25-year history. Though the series wrapped in 2015 with a rather controversial ending that divided fans and critics alike, it certainly set the table for Robert Pattinson’s career change.
Cosmo & Snow White (2015)
If you’re still thinking that Robert Pattinson changed his acting career for a wealthy playboy, boy, you’d better check yourself because that characterization would be flat-out wrong. What you may not know is that in 2015, before he made the move to fame and fortune, Pattinson landed a role that’s quite surprising for an unknown actor: He was chosen to portray a young Cosmo in Disney’s live-action adaptation of their classic animated comedy series, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The part required an all-star cast of voice actors: He shared screen time with Dame Judy Dench, Michael Sheen, and Ben Kingsley, and the film went on to become one of Disney’s most profitable ventures. Cosmo is the misunderstood genius who invents gadgets and technology in the film, making it a role tailor-made for Pattinson, and he not only survived the experience but emerged with a bounce in his step. In other words, this wasn’t just an easy paycheck, this was valuable training for the future.
The Lost Symbol (2016)
The Lost Symbol is a 2016 American mystery film directed by Ron Howard and co-written by Aaron Blum and Fabian Flynn. It is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Dan Brown. The film stars Brown as Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology at Harvard University who seeks to solve a centuries-old symbol puzzle after his daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless hacker. The film is an adaptation of Brown’s bestselling book and was originally scheduled to be released in March of 2016. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, grossing over $400 million worldwide. What’s more is that it was one of Ron Howard’s last films before his passing in 2018. Perhaps best known for his role as Philip Shepherd in The Da Vinci Code (2006), Howard was also behind Men in Black (1997), Parenthood (1989), and Willow (1988). For fans of Dan Brown, this was definitely a worthwhile investment in theaters.
Valet (2017)
Valet is a French car-drama film directed by Olivier Chaperot, written by Olivier Bonnart, and starring Matt Damon. It was released in April of 2017 and was France’s entry for the Academy Awards. Based on true events, the film revolves around the true-life story of a group of friends who stumble upon the theft of a prized classic automobile and band together to get it back. Valet was another major role for Robert Pattinson and yet another big break for an actor who might just continue to surprise us in the future.
What Is Robert Pattinson’s Connection To Batman And Man Of Steel?
Now that we’ve covered some of the most significant roles in Robert Pattinson’s career to date, it’s time to return to the topic that sent countless Twilight fans into a tizzy: Is Robert Pattinson playing Batman in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? It’s certainly a tempting theory, given that the role was tailor-made for the actor, but is it true? To answer that question, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit some of the major events that led to Robert Pattinson’s involvement with Batman and Man of Steel.
The Turn Of Events
The most significant event that put Robert Pattinson on the map was arguably the 2005 Academy Awards. Up until that point, Pattinson’s acting career had been relatively uneventful, having mostly featured roles in British television productions, but in 2005 he received a huge break when he was cast as a paleontologist in the film adaptation of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. The following year, he would go on to appear in Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, based on a bestselling novel by Alice Munro. In 2007, Jackson cast him as the lead in his most ambitious film to date, The Hobbit, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic The Hobbit trilogy. Though it was an international co-production, The Hobbit was a massive success, grossing $1.9 billion worldwide. The following year would see major roles in the action films Starter For 10 and Cloud Atlas, and in 2008, Pattinson was finally given his big break: He was cast in J.K. Rowling’s highly anticipated final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The role was specifically written for him and he would play a key part in the climactic Battle of Hogwarts. Though Potter ended up being one of the most successful film series of all time, the role was an intense one and proved to be a bit of a strain on his social calendar. In 2011, the actor was finally given his come-up-ance when he was cast in the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which became one of the biggest successes of all time, grossing over $725 million worldwide. Though it wasn’t your usual comedy, the film would go on to establish him as a major player on the big screen, and in 2014, he was finally given his own series, The Walking Dead, to portray the zombie apocalypse apocalypse survivor, Rick Grimes. The show would premiere to critical acclaim, with the premiere episode attracting 4.7 million viewers. Though the number fell a little bit in the second season, it remained consistently above 4 million viewers until the show’s end in 2017.
While all these films have had their perks (I’m sure many of you have heard Stephenie Meyer’s Twitter account harping on about the Twilight films), it’s evident that none of them held a candle to what might be considered the perfect role for Robert Pattinson: Batman! Let’s fast-forward to 2016 and revisit some of the significant events that led to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The Birth Of A New Identity
It was in January of 2016 when Batman v Superman was first announced. Around this time, Warner Bros. had been scouting for a younger actor to portray the iconic superhero, and after auditioning several dozen contenders, they finally found their man in the form of Ben Affleck. Though initially slated to play Batman, Affleck was forced to drop out of the role after getting diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. He was replaced by Robert Pattinson, whose name had been floated as a possible fit since way back in 2014. What’s funny is that even though this was a significant role for Robert Pattinson, it was still pretty low-profile considering his history. The part called for him to don the Batman costume and act alongside Henry Cavill (Superman), but in exchange for keeping his identity secret, he would receive an expansive budget and more creative control than he’d ever had before, which he reportedly loved.