The Batman: Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight could exceed expectations

Robert Pattinson could potentially be the Most Valuable Player in Matt Reeves’ The Batman and become one of the all-time greatest in the process.

Robert Pattinson’s casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Batman saw the actor join a long-line of legendary actors who received unnecessary backlash from assuming critics that didn’t expect them to be cast in the role. And, like all of those other actors and actresses, he will more than likely prove those critics wrong.

In this editorial, we’ll explain how The Lighthouse actor could potentially become the Most Valuable Player in the dual role of Gotham’s billionaire playboy socialite and vengeful, crime-fighting, masked Caped Crusader.

World class detective

It has long been teased that the next appearance of cinema’s most famous masked vigilante would be a noir film, and that is quickly becoming a reality.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman will set itself apart from previous live-action iterations (including the likes of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman film series and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy) as it will be more driven towards the detective aspect of the DC Comics character.

That means that Pattinson isn’t just going to have to distinguish his performances of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, it means that he’s going to have to highlight their similarities too – bringing to life the more investigative, obsessive qualities of both Bruce and Batman.

Rounding up the Rogues

Among this all-star cast, in The Batman we are set to be introduced to new versions of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), Edward “Nygma” Nashton/The Riddler (Paul Dano), Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz). The film clearly appears to draw inspiration from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween as it is centered on a younger Batman only in his second year of his crime-fighting career and will see him go up against numerous rogues.

The multiple villains could allow Pattinson’s Batman to shine as the character’s interaction with each one of the suspects could set up potential arcs with his future adversaries that could be explored in future installments – especially Kravitz’s Catwoman (which we’ll get to later).

Again, think back to his role in Cosmopolis where his character – Packer – interacted with all different kinds of people while inside his state-of-the-art luxury office in his limousine – from his Chief of Finance and his physician to his Art Consultant (with whom Packer was having an affair) and his Systems Analyst. He had to conduct himself in unique ways around all of these characters, and it’s possible the actor will be challenged in similar ways in The Batman.

Imagine Wayne coming into contact with his corporate rival Cobblepot, or being mentally challenged by The Riddler, who could – for all intents and purposes – compromise The Bat’s investigations. That would make for a great popcorn flick as well as a thought-provoking escape into the world of Gotham City – all while giving us tastes of what films focusing on these different characters (and their relationship with Batman) would look like.

The Bruce Wayne / Selina Kyle Affair

That brings us to Catwoman and her relationship with The Dark Knight. The two comic book characters share a long and iconic history together, and we’ve seen how Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer and Christian Bale and Anne Hathway’s pairings as the Bat and the Cat greatly impacted two different generations of Batman fans. Could Pattinson and Kravitz’s interpretation of the romance join those iconic ranks?

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Of course that all depends on how many scenes Pattinson has with Kravitz. Bruce could have a different relationship with Selina Kyle than he would have as Batman with Catwoman. Maintaining chemistry is just as important, but what could ultimately carry the relationship to greatness is the actors’ abilities to showcase a different type of chemistry for each dynamic.

Batman and Catwoman’s relationship represents over 80 years worth of DC Comics. Hathaway drew inspiration from the late, great Hedy Lamarr for her performance while Kravitz herself cites Pfeiffer’s portrayal in Batman Returns as an inspiration to her. However, let’s not forget that Kravitz already played Catwoman in a sense, lending her voice to the character in The Lego Batman Movie. So, that is but a preview to her live-action portrayal.

If she can channel that all over again in The Batman, we’re halfway there and there’s no doubt that Pattinson can return the favor with his portrayal of the Caped Crusader.

All the right tools for success

While Wayne is an extravagant playboy to the public and a gracious humanist at heart and driven seeker of justice, Batman is the cold, obsessive and calculating spectre that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. We’ve already discussed how Pattinson must depict both aspects well and explored how he’s more than capable of pulling it off.

Any one of the actors like Turturro, Farrell and Dano has the potential to steal the show from Pattinson, but if he is able to play his cards right and indeed exceed expectations with his dual performances, then he will gain MVP status and could very well become one of the most beloved big-screen Dark Knights of all time.

Next. All 10 Batman actors ranked from worst to best. dark

Could Pattinson end up outdoing Ben Affleck’s DCEU performance in the way that Joaquin Phoenix outdid Jared Leto’s in Joker and bring his own aura to Bruce Wayne/Batman? Do you think it could happen? Let us know in the comments below!

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The Batman: How Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight could steal the show

By Andre Farquharson | May 28, 2020