Fans Aren't Happy About Robert Pattinson Playing Batman, But Let's Let Matt Reeves Make the Movie He Wants to Make!
Remember when Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton as Batman? The fans initially hated the fact he was cast as the Dark Knight, but then look what happened. He turned out to be an awesome Batman!
Remember when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight? The fans complained about it and didn’t think he would make a good Joker, but then look what happened. He was so freakin’ good that he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Hell, when Hugh Jackman was first cast as Wolverine in the X-Men films the fans were upset! There are more examples of this trend of fans complaining about actors being cast in superhero roles, and now it’s happening all over again with the possibility of Robert Pattinson playing Batman in director Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Pattinson hasn’t even officially been cast yet, but some fans are unsurprisingly making it known that they don’t like the choice. Hell, I’ve already seen four petitions pop up that already want him replaced! There’s “Warner Brothers, don't do it! Don't cast Robert Pattinson as Batman?,” “Stop Robert Pattinson in Playing ‘The Batman’ for Matt Reeves and Warner Bros.,” “Replace Robert Pattinson as the new Batman,” and “Cast Armie Hammer as Batman.” It’s all kind of silly and ridiculous.
Look, we have no idea what Reeves is really planning for his Batman film; he has a certain vision for the character to tell his story, and if he sees that in Robert Pattinson… fine. Yeah, when you look at Pattinson you may not think, “That’s Batman,” but the guy really is a great actor, and I imagine most people who are complaining haven’t even seen his work outside of the Twilight films.
I’ll admit, Pattinson doesn’t seem like he can strike fear in the hearts of men. But Reeves is a solid director who has made some great films. I’m excited to see what he does with Batman in this new movie! I honestly don’t care who is cast! Fans have been proved wrong many times before, so who’s to say Pattinson doesn’t end up being a surprisingly great Batman!? You never know until you see for yourselves.
Here’s the thing, though, no matter who ends up being cast as Batman in this film, there are going to be a bunch of fans that complain and cry about it online. You just aren’t going to make everyone happy, that’s just how it is with a lot of fans.
As a fan myself, I am willing to open myself up to new and unexpected things that will bring new movie-going experiences. Why? Because you never know! What if, like Heath Ledger as The Joker, Pattinson ends up giving an incredible Batman performance!? We’ll never know unless we give him and the director the chance to show us their vision. We might actually end up loving it!?
If the director has a certain actor in mind for his version of Batman, I don’t think it’s fair for us to stomp all over that vision before we know what it really is. You know how many of us fans complain about how Hollywood studio executives are ruining movies because they keep stepping in to change up a filmmaker’s vision for their film? Well, now the fans have become like those studio executives.
When Reeves was hired to direct The Batman, he was given full creative freedom to make the film that he wants. Let’s let him make that movie.