The Batman | Producer Michael E. Uslan Defends Robert Pattinson’s Casting as Batman
Phil Roberts 
The veteran Batman producer says “trust the filmmaker”
As has been the case for the last few decades, the casting of a new Batman is a seriously controversial topic for millions of bat fans around the world. Michael Keaton’s casting as the Dark Knight for Tim Burton’s 1989 big-screen outing was criticized because the actor had been stereotyped as a comedy actor, Heath Ledger’s casting as The Joker in The Dark Knight was attacked due to his recent role in “Brokeback Mountain” and let us not forget the Batfleck debacle when Ben Affleck was cast as the caped crusader.
For one reason or another, the casting of a new dark knight is a tenuous issue and the same reaction has befallen the latest actor set to don the cape and cowl, Robert Pattinson. Pattinson is set to assume the role as Batman/Bruce Wayne for the highly anticipated movie from Matt Reeves: The Batman.
His casting has once again divided the fans with many citing the actor’s role as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga as their primary concern with him slipping into the famous cape and cowl. But veteran Batman producer Michael E. Uslan believes we all need to relax a little.
Speaking at Germany’s CCXP Cologne convention Uslan addressed the fans’ concerns: “My position is this: trust the filmmaker and give the filmmaker, and the filmmaker’s vision, the benefit of the doubt. Then wait ’til you see the movie,” he said.
The producer certainly knows his stuff. He has overseen almost every Batman movie produced since 1989 and has come to expect these heated reactions from the fans. He reflected on when Keaton was cast as Batman in 1989: “The fans were up in arms: ‘How can you have a comedian play Batman? You guys are gonna revert it back to the 1960s show, you’re gonna destroy Batman.’ Until they saw the movie and saw what Tim Burton’s vision was, and how he executed it. And then the fans never wanted anyone else to be Batman.”
He continued by addressing the outrage surrounding Heath Ledger’s (now Oscar Winning) performance as The Joker and the casting of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle for The Dark Knight Rises: “‘How dare you cast some gay cowboy to play the Joker? He’ll destroy the character forever!’ And then of course after they see the movie, they never want anyone else to be the Joker. And it repeated again with Anne Hathaway when it was announced she would play Catwoman because she was not the obvious choice. People were thinking maybe Angelina Jolie or somebody, and ‘oh, she’s the girl next door, she could never do it.’ And then she did this brilliant, brilliant job.”
And Uslan wasn’t finished. He continued by offering support for director Matt Reeves. The director has delivered two masterful movies in the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and its successor War for the Planet of the Apes and Uslan has no qualms about throwing shade at the doubters: “Once you see the movie, judge the hell out of it. But I think that’s really the formula going forward,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier, I couldn’t be more enthused, as a Batman fan, that Matt Reeves is the filmmaker in charge and has selected Robert Pattinson to be his next Batman.”
Sounds like we should all take a chill pill and let Robert Pattinson get on with bringing his version of Batman to the screen. I have great faith in Matt Reeves. His Planet of the Apes movies was breath-taking in their handling of the Apes legacy and I truly believe he is the right man to bring the Dark Knight back to the screen.
Like many Batman fans out there, I have my reservations about Pattinson’s casting, and yet I am more than willing to give him a fair crack at delivering the best Batman adaptation he can. Whether my faith will be rewarded remains to be seen, but with Reeves behind the camera, my concerns are far less of a burden.
The Dark Knight will rise again…with Robert Pattinson as Batman!
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager and Editor of Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter @philthecool where he uses the force frequently!
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Source: Comic Book
Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
