Robert Pattinson in talks to play Batman in 2021

May 31, 2019

Robert Pattinson has already mastered the role of vampire, and now he’s in talks to play the iconic DC Comics superhero Batman, a Warner Bros. spokesperson told CBS News on Friday. Pattinson is “in negotiations” to play Bruce Wayne in the upcoming standalone film, “The Batman.”

“The Batman,” which is slated for a June 2021, will be written and directed by Matt Reeves, who was behind the last two “Planet of the Apes” films. Warner Bros. has not confirmed any other actors involved in the project, or any details on the plot.

If he does don the Dark Knight’s infamous cape and cowl, he’ll follow in the footsteps of Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, who have all played Batman in past films. Affleck was initially set to direct and star in the upcoming release, but left the project early on.

Since his breakout roles as Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and Edward Cullen in the “Twilight” series, Pattinson has spent several years pursuing smaller roles, including “The Lost City of Z,” “Good Time,” “High Life,” and “The Lighthouse,” which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, Pattinson told “CBS Sunday Morning” why he enjoyed playing a gruff, unshaven bank robber in “Good Time.”

“I think so much of life people are trying to put you in a box and define you all the time,” Pattinson said. “It’s just exciting to have a job where you’re allowed to consistently break the walls of the box around you.”