A new knight rises: what will Robert Pattinson make of Batman’s poisoned chalice
As the anti-Batfleck choice, the Twilight star brings hard-won arthouse chops to the most troublesome superhero role
Has there ever been a more poisoned chalice than the role of Batman? Of the five actors who have played the caped crusader on the big screen in the modern era, only two (Michael Keaton and Christian Bale) escaped with their dignity intact. Val Kilmer’s languid turn in Batman Forever (1995) seemed to usher in the actor’s turn-of-the-century malaise, while George Clooney’s Batnippled take in 1997’s Batman and Robin almost derailed the then TV actor’s nascent movie career before it got started. The less said about Batfleck the better.
Now, in The Batman, it is Robert Pattinson’s turn to pull on the cape and cowl as a younger, greener dark knight of Gotham. Let’s hope the British star of the Twilight movies has done his homework better than Kilmer, who is rumoured to have signed on for Batman Forever without reading the script or having any idea who might be directing.