Robert Pattinson Is Our Next Batman, But What About Kristen Stewart as Catwoman?

It seems almost rude to instruct Nicholas Hoult to put on the batsuit, only to tell him he did not land the role of Batman, but here we are: After two weeks of rumors that Robert Pattinson had been tapped to succeed Ben Affleck in the role and would star in the forthcoming The Batman, and after both actors screen-tested for the role (including, potentially, in the batsuit, according to The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez), Warner Bros. has finally selected Pattinson for real.

As Deadline pointed out in its report on the casting, Pattinson has ample experience with working on a blockbuster franchise—hard-won as the star of the Twilight Saga series. That was, of course, before he became an art house messiah thanks to Good Time. (Pattinson has, however, also shown that he has very, very little interest in press cycles.) Pattinson and all the previous Batmen like Affleck, Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, and Val Kilmer have very little in common, except for how they’re all white and various shades of brunet, but Pattinson has the requisite sort of gruff, taciturn thing down pretty well. Armie Hammer, a not-brunet white man, and Oscar Isaac, a brunet man who is Guatemalan-American, were both rumored to be up for the part, though Isaac denied this. (The project has been germinating for a while, allowing ample time for a series of actors to be vaguely connected to it.)

It’s still to be determined how he pulls off the batsuit compared to Nicholas Hoult, of course, but the batsuit really isn’t a great look on anyone, so that probably wasn’t what put him over the top for the part.

Before Hoult was called in to read for Batman, he recently revealed he was also passed over to play Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, a role that ultimately went to Kit Harington. So a Skins cinematic universe might not have ultimately come to fruition—but a Twilight one is still possible.

Following those first rumors that Pattinson would take up the role, there was an online call for Kristen Stewart, Pattinson’s Twilight costar, to play Catwoman in The Batman. (This, simply judging by the side-by-side images of Stewart and Selina Kyle in the original Batman comics that circulated on social media earlier this month, would be stellar casting.) Then, all they’ve got to do is find a bit part for Taylor Lautner, who has languished since starring as Jacob Black in the later Twilight installments, and they’ve got themselves a spiritual Twilight successor.

Stewart herself might even be game for it: Back in 2015, she said that she’d love to join a superhero franchise, according to Yahoo Movies. She’s got the Charlie’s Angels reboot coming out this fall, which, like Charlize Theron’s 007 audition via Atomic Blonde, could serve as an unofficial submission for the DC franchise. And many of the Marvel stars have previously appeared together all over the place, or will appear together all over the place—think, for example, of Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth in the new Men in Black. To quote many Twitter users, cast Kristen Stewart as Catwoman, you cowards.