A new casting report has revealed what could happen to Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight if the actor gets the green light to become 007. It's no secret that Amazon MGM Studios and director Denis Villeneuve have been searching for their next James Bond to kick off a new era after Daniel Craig's farewell in 2021's No Time to Die. Casting has reportedly been exhaustive, previously narrowing the field to names like Jack Lowden and Callum Turner, but now several new names have been thrown into the mix. One of those names is The Batman star Robert Pattinson, whose potential casting could have a dramatic effect around Hollywood, namely at DC Studios.
Puck's Matt Belloni recently reported that Pattinson is in talks to become the next James Bond, but his report could also signal a low likelihood of the actor returning as Batman for a Matt Reeves third movie. He noted that Reeves had fallen far behind on The Batman Part II, as all DC fans know, having eventually pushed the sequel to February 2028. That was even before Steven Soderbergh stepped in to finish filming while Reeves dealt with a family matter.
Most importantly, Belloni finds it hard to believe that Skydance and its new DC Studios president, Jeremy Latcham, will go down that path again with the company's "number one franchise:"
"Indulging a lengthy timeline on the company's number one franchise is probably not an option for the debt-laden Skydance. And without Reeves, Pattinson is unlikely to continue in the role, I'd guess."
In general, Skydance's recent DC Studios shake-up doesn't bode well for The Batman Part III ever happening. It's important to note that a third movie hasn't been officially announced, and even before any of this Bond casting (or the Skydance merger, for that matter), some fans were starting to expect Part II could be the final movie after such a long wait.
Latcham now taking over for James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC Studios is, of course, going to have some major effects. Those will primarily hit the DCU and put the futures of David Corenswet's Superman, Aaron Pierre's John Stewart, and the rest of Gunn's new heroes in jeopardy.
Pattinson's Batman has always been off to the side as its own thing, having first been filmed and released before Gunn's DC era, outside of the past DCEU.
Reeves' Batman side universe has also made getting a DCU Batman off the ground a bit more complicated. Gunn announced The Brave and the Bold back in 2023, but now with Latcham in charge, it seems like the new Skydance-run DC Studios will work quickly to get an in-universe Batman cast and speedrun him to theaters.
Pattinson just auditioning for Bond to begin with also seems to indicate he could be done with Batman after Part II. Even Nicholas Hoult (Superman) reportedly auditioned, which some fans could take as a sign he won't be playing Lex Luthor for long if the DCU hard reboots, even though none of that is confirmed.
As most of DC fandom is focused on the potential of Skydance dismantling all of Gunn's hard work, starting with 2027's Man of Tomorrow, there are also clear signs that Pattinson could be nearing the end of his Batman run.
Will The Batman Part 3 Happen?
The extra-large gap between The Batman and Part II seems like it could be killing the chances of a trilogy. The first movie hit theaters in March 2022, and its sequel won't arrive until nearly six years later. Most fans were probably expecting, or at least hoping for, a trilogy when the first one came out, but the odds are dwindling.
In general, the production of both films has been a mess, with each one delayed from its initial release date. The Batman was originally set for June 2021 before the pandemic pushed it to March 2022, while Part II has slid from October 2025 to February 2028.
It would be a sad reality if Pattinson is only in two Batman movies after being cast way back in 2019. That also leads to the issue of age, since this is supposed to be a young Bruce Wayne, a year-two Batman in the first movie. Pattinson was 33 when he landed the role, and he's now 40. The window could be closing, both creatively and logistically.
It's not totally impossible for a third movie to happen if Reeves and Pattinson want to do it, but it sounds like Pattinson could be busy as James Bond. He has quickly become a frontrunner for the iconic character, becoming the new odds-on favorite by prediction markets, and he's coming off a year with The Drama, The Odyssey, and Primetime, with Dune: Part Three still on the way.
If he lands the role, it's looking like at least a three-film commitment, and his potential predecessor, Daniel Craig, played the spy five times over 15 years.
Even if it's like ending the party before 10 pm, The Batman Part II will have a lot to offer, like Reeves' grounded interpretations of Victor Zsasz and Harvey Dent. The cast is also stacked with Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, Brian Tyree Henry, and some others. If this is the last time Reeves touches in the Batman franchise, hopefully he's created a memorable journey.
In the future, expect the DCU's Batman to lean more into the fantastical, leaving Reeves' grounded duology in the past.
