Robert Pattinson has been chosen as the new Batman, beating out several other actors, including Nicholas Hoult, to play the Caped Crusader, Variety said Friday.
The 33-year-old Twilight heartthrob is set to play the vigilante superhero inThe Batman, under the direction of Matt Reeves, who was behind the last two Planet of the Apes sequels, the entertainment magazine said.
Deadline has speculated that it will be a three picture trilogy deal, adding: "the contract just has to be negotiated and signed."
Filming of The Batman is slated to start in the coming months with a release date expected in June 2021.
A Warner Bros spokeswoman would not confirm the news to AFP, saying only: "I can confirm that we are in negotiations." Pattinson's agent did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pattinson, who shot to fame as teenage vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga, has avoided the spotlight in recent years, evolving from a teenage heartthrob to an indie darling.
He recently starred in acclaimed French director Claire Denis's sci-fi mystery High Life, which earned him critical praise.
He also stars in The Lighthouse, a dark fantasy horror film that was also well received at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
As Batman, Pattinson will be replacing Ben Affleck who retired from the role after playing Bruce Wayne in 2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League.
According to Affleck he just "couldn't get the role right".
"Part of the problem was that we worked on the script and I was trying to figure out how to kind of crack it. I was never happy enough with it where I thought it was worth actually going out and making it because I just didn't want to do a version that I wasn't really excited by," Affleck said.
