Robert Pattinson, Nicholas Hoult on short list to be the next Batman

A lot of people have played Batman over the years, and he’s had his ups and downs. Most people would probably agree that Christian Bale’s turn as the Dark Knight in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy was a highlight. George Clooney’s work as Batman in 1997’s Batman & Robin? Not so much. And obviously Adam West’s portrayal of the Caped Crusader in the Batman TV show from the ’60s is the best of all.

The most recent actor to play Batman on the big screen was Ben Affleck, and considering the tepid reception of movies like Batman v Superman and Justice League, I think we can now safely label this as one of the superheroes down periods. Funnily enough, former failed Batman George Clooney cautioned Affleck against taking the role at the start. “I actually did talk to him about it,” he said on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “I said, ‘Don’t do it.’ It was only from my experience, which is, you know…”

Affleck is now out, which means he won’t get to star in director Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman. That movie is still going forward, just with someone else in the main role. But who?

Well, according to Deadline, Reeves has narrowed it down to two candidates: Robert Pattinson, most famous for playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight movies; and Nicholas Hoult, most famous for playing Beast in the new X-Men movies, although he’ll always by Nux to me.

Per Deadline, Pattinson currently has the edge. I’m sure people will make all sorts of sparkly vampire jokes — and they should, don’t get me wrong — but Pattinson is a pretty solid performer who’s done a lot of things besides fight werewolves for the right to date Kristen Stewart, including starring in challenging movies like Cosmopolis, High Life and Good Times.

But yes, I’m still looking forward to the memes.