One of last year’s big winners was Robert Pattinson with his role as Batman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He cultivated a loyal following of film bros (including myself) that are excited for his future films. Last week, I saw a tweet of Pattinson’s three upcoming films which are set to release between 2024 and 2025. He’ll be playing familiar roles and also stepping outside the box with some of Hollywood’s most talented directors.
The Rise Of Pattinson
Pattinson gained fame in 2005 when he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The charismatic, young gun actor then parlayed that into starring in one of the most famous film franchises of the 21st century, Twilight. From 2008 to 2012, Pattinson starred alongside Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart as Edward Cullen. His role along with his character rivalry with Lautner’s character, Jacob Black, led to internet discourse and a divide on if people were Team Edward or Team Jacob.
Following his run as a heartthrob for teenage girls, he starred in some midlevel films like Maps to the Stars, Life, and The Childhood of a Leader. However, it wasn’t until 2017 when he was in another smash hit. Pattinson teamed up with director duo Josh and Benny Safdie to star in their gritty crime film Good Time. Let me tell you something; Good Time was not a good time. It’s a gut-wrenching thriller that Pattinson shined in.
Since Good Time, Pattinson has starred in Robert Eggers The Lighthouse, The King, and Christopher Nolans Tenet. He’s done a great job showing off his range and solidifying himself as a star. Personally, he’s an actor that no matter what he’s in, I’ll go and see. There are few actors that I think are in that category. It’d be Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Timothee Chalamet, and now Robert Pattinson.
Pattinsons Upcoming Projects
Like I mentioned prior, Pattinson has three interesting projects on the horizon. He’ll be working with some of Hollywood’s most impressive directors: directors who have won Academy Awards and been nominated for Golden Globes and other prestigious honors.
Mickey 17
It had been rumored since the start of the year that Pattinson would be starring in director Bong Joon-ho’s latest picture. That was made official about a month ago. Now this is an enticing collaboration. Joon-ho is one of the most creative directors of the 21st century as he’s delivered films like Memories of Murder, Snowpeircer, Okja, and Best Picture winning Parasite.
According to the Letterboxd description, the plot of Mickey 17 is “Mickey 17 is an “expendable”, a disposable employee, on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of its memories intact.” To add more context, Wikipedia informs us that the film is in the science fiction genre. It’s apparently an adaptation of the Edward Ashton novel Mickey7. Starring alongside Pattinson is Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie.
Pairing a legendary actor with a charismatic and established actor can only mean one thing. This film is going to rock. It feels like it’ll be a must see in the movie theater, like a lot of sci-fi films are. There’s no doubt that I’ll be in attendance on opening night.
The Batman: Part II
In 2022, The Batman became a cultural phenomenon. It grossed 770.9 million dollars and many people hailed it as the best film of the year. For me, it was in my top 10 at 7 behind TÁR and ahead of Top Gun: Maverick. It was a great film. Now in 2025, we’re receiving the sequel.
The Batman: Part II will be written and directed again by Matt Reeves. What is uncertain is the plot of the film. When The Batman concluded, we were left with a flooded Gotham, the Riddler in prison, and then a cut scene of Barry Keoghan as the Joker in prison as he laughed maniacally. One thing we do know is that there will be the appearance of an underrated villain in the Batman universe. According to Deadline on March 29, 2023, the villain in this film is Clayface. I’m excited to see who plays him and his integration into Reeves’ Batman universe.
What drew people like myself to Pattinson as Batman was that we felt starved of a true Batman. Don’t get me wrong, Ben Affleck was fine, but he’s a more believable Bruce Wayne. Not a believable Batman. Christian Bale was the pinnacle, but Robert Pattinson is slowly approaching him.
Average Height, Average Build
The final of the three announced Pattinson films doesn’t have a release date yet. Pattinson will be working with one of the great, satirical directors of the 21st century, Adam McKay. The film is billed as a comedy and will star Pattinson alongside Academy Award nominee Amy Adams and Robert Downey Jr. Average Height, Average Build is set to release straight to Netflix, the same way his Oscar nominated film Don’t Look Up did, which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but it did show off the satire and whit that McKay possesses. While I wasn’t huge on Don’t Look Up, I did love his two films prior with The Big Short and Vice. McKay is a fantastic storyteller and with Average Height, Average Build not being a “historical” film, I’m curious to see the way McKay takes this flick.
In an article about Average Height, Average Build on Netflix, the plot is described as “A frustrated serial killer meets a state lobbyist and chemistry ensues.” From other tweets I’ve read, I’ve gathered that Pattinson will play a serial killer who wants to change a law to make it easier to kill more people while Robert Downey Jr. is set to play a politician pushing back against him. Yup, I’m in. I am all in for this film. While Pattinson is good in intense roles, this should show off his chops as a comedic actor.
With all of that being said, I just know that I’m pumped for the upcoming years of Robert Pattinson films. He’s helping to keep cinema alive.
