When Robert Pattinson was cast as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves' standalone DC film The Batman, there was something of a negative response from a vocal faction of fans. The reaction, which was assumedly based on Pattinson's over-a-decade-old performance in the Twilight saga and not the excellent Good Time, has now received a response from veteran Batman producer Michael E. Uslan, who is urging fans to wait until they judge the new Dark Knight.
"My position is this: trust the filmmaker and give the filmmaker, and the filmmaker’s vision, the benefit of the doubt. Then wait till you see the movie," Uslan said of the casting in a conversation at Germany's CCXP Cologne convention. "And then once you see the movie, judge the hell out of it. But I think that’s really the formula going forward. I couldn’t be happier, I couldn’t be more enthused, as a Batman fan, that Matt Reeves is the filmmaker in charge and has selected Robert Pattinson to be his next Batman."
Uslan, who has overseen numerous Batman films from Tim Burton's 1989 effort through to Ben Affleck's appearance in Justice League, stressed that he's seen a similiar backlash before. When Michael Keaton was cast in Batman, there was "an uproar like the world had never seen before," but when the film hit theaters his performance was met with praise. Similarily, Heath Ledger was met with backlash when he was cast as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
"The fan reaction was berserk," Uslan said when the topic of Heath Ledger's now iconic performance was brought up. "Ben Affleck, when it was announced he would be Batman, I thought they were really gonna surround the studio with pitchforks and torches," he continued. "So then Robert Pattinson is announced, and the controversy on both sides breaks out all over again, so it’s a repeated formula."
At least Jaden Smith and everyone else with good taste is excited to see what Battinson will be like.
The Batman is set to hit theaters on June 25, 2021 and will also boast the talents of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Greig Fraser, whose credits include Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Zero Dark Thirty, the upcoming Dune, and The Batman helmer Matt Reeves’ own Let Me In."It’s great to be working with Matt again," said Fraser in a statement. "The Batman franchise is iconic and it's a privilege to now be able to visualize it in my own way."
