The Batman: Robert Pattinson's performance in Good Time reportedly won him the role over Nicholas Hoult

Robert Pattinson was chosen as the new Batman after he beat out several other actors, including Nicholas Hoult, to play the Caped Crusader. The Twilight heartthrob is set to play the vigilante superhero in a standalone movie called The Batman, under the direction of Matt Reeves, who was behind the last two Planet of the Apes sequels.(Also read: The Lighthouse review — Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe are caught between the devil and the deep sea)[caption id="attachment_6788521" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Robert Pattinson in Good Time. Image via Twitter[/caption]Pre-production on the Warner Bros. and DC Comics collaboration is expected to kick off this summer ahead of a 25 June 2021 release, Variety reported.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 American filmmaker Robert Eggers' maritime masterpiece The Lighthouse and acclaimed French director Claire Denis's sci-fi mystery High Life, both of which earned him critical praise.However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it was his performance in Safdie Brothers' Good Time that made Reeves cast Pattinson over Hoult. The director even took to Twitter to post a GIF featuring Pattinson in the 2017 indie feature from Josh and Benny Safdie.

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. Michael Keaton had played the character first in 1989′s Batman - which was directed by Tim Burton - and Val Kilmer and George Clooney have also taken on the role, in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin respectively. But it was Christian Bale's turn in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) that remains the most memorable among fans.(With inputs from Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press)