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The Batman Director Responds To Backlash Over Robert Pattinson Casting

The people who weren't excited, I knew it was because they didn't know Rob's work post-Twilight."

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The Batman director Matt Reeves has weighed in on the reaction to Robert Pattinson being cast as Batman in the upcoming film. His casting generated a lot of debate and discussion, including backlash from some corners of the internet, and Reeves said this was always going to be the case, given the history of the series.

"There has been no actor, when his announcement that he was going to be playing Batman in one of the feature films was announced, that has not received a backlash," Reeves told Esquire.

The people who lashed out at Pattinson's casting haven't seen enough of Pattinson's post-Twilight work, Reeves said. "The people who were excited, I knew it was because they knew Rob's work post-Twilight. The people who weren't excited, I knew it was because they didn't know Rob's work post-Twilight," he said.

Indeed, Pattinson made a name for himself with the Twilight films, in which he played the vampire Edward Cullen opposite Kristen Stewart. The movie franchise helped put Pattinson on the map, and he has since taken on many additional and varied roles since Twilight wrapped up in 2012. Recently, he starred in the black-and-white movie The Lighthouse with Willem Dafoe in 2019 and then Tenet and The Devil All The Time in 2020.

Barring a COVID-related delay, The Batman releases on March 4. In addition to Pattinson, the film stars Andy Serkis as Alfred, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Zoe Kravitz plays Catwoman, Paul Dano portrays The Riddler, and Colin Farrell plays Penguin. The movie runs for nearly three hours.

A prequel Batman TV series is also in the works for HBO Max. Outside of film, the DC video games Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are scheduled for release in 2022.

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