With Ben Affleck assuming the role of Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, many fans have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see the actor play the iconic superhero in his debut. Now, they will get the chance after all with the release of July 25th, 2013, where Affleck’s Batman will make his triumphant return to the big screen.
However, before then, fans may get a chance to see another Batman on the big screen. While filming in Budapest, Hungary earlier this year, Warner Bros. and director Christopher Nolan had a change of heart and decided to recast the lead role of Batman. British actor Robert Pattinson was reportedly their first choice to take on the iconic role.
While a representative of Pattinson’s camp has said that the actor turned down the offer, citing creative differences, fans may still get to see Pattinson in the iconic black and white costume.
A Variety Of Differences
According to the Variety movie review, the creative differences may have stemmed from issues with the script or the direction that Nolan was taking the character of Batman in this installment. Reportedly, Nolan wanted to explore more of Batman’s psychology than previous Batman films had, particularly with regards to how the Dark Knight thinks and behaves when faced with an enemy (real or perceived).
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Nolan spoke about this:
The great thing about Batman now is that he has so many different elements to him. You can bring so much psychology to the character, because he’s so intelligent. I’m not just talking about detective psychology, but I’m talking about his psychology in general. So it was great to be able to explore those areas of his personality because that’s what makes him such a great character.
There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to explore that side of his personality. One of the reasons is that I felt there was something a little bit off about his relationship with Alfred, and I wanted to explore that. So that’s one of the reasons. But there were also just so many different places that I wanted to go with him. He’s probably one of my favorite characters to write, because he’s so multifaceted. And he really is a study in psychology. So what was great is that no matter what, I always had this guy who I could dive back into whenever I needed to.
In the interview, Nolan also revealed that he would like to see more female characters in superhero films, especially Wonder Woman. The filmmaker went on to say that he thinks the character of Wonder Woman will work well in an action film, because “she’s very much a woman of action.”
While there are certainly interesting elements to explore with regards to Batman’s psychology that Nolan put into his character, it’s also important to remember that the Dark Knight is first and foremost a superhero. And it is because of this that fans should feel excited about the prospect of seeing him return.
Wishful Thinking?
While they may not have liked the script that Nolan and company had written for Affleck, it’s still possible that Pattinson’s camp feels that Batman would have worked well with the director on another project. After all, they did have a good working relationship on the screenplay for The Great Gatsby, which they both co-wrote. Perhaps, Pattinson felt that he matched well with Nolan and was confident that they would click well together.
However, this is all just speculation until we see Pattinson in the iconic black and white costume on the big screen. For now, the best that fans can do is to sit back and wait for July 25th, where they will get to see the emergence of a new Batman.