A for the upcoming 鈥淭he Batman鈥 film featuring Robert Pattinson was released this past weekend. Director Matt Reeves, known for directing the recent 鈥淧lanet of the Apes鈥 movies along with the 2010 hit 鈥淐loverfield,鈥 appears to be aiming at an even grittier rendition of Batman than what Christopher Nolan crafted with 鈥淭he Dark Knight鈥 trilogy. Those movies starred Christian Bale as the sulky superhero, and surveys show it may be tough for Pattinson to push him off the top of the most beloved Batman actors list.
According to a 2019 survey from YouGov, Adam West鈥檚 campy, strange portrayal of Batman in 1966 just barely edges out Christian Bale鈥檚 serious, moody version created by Nolan. Following closely behind is Michael Keaton鈥檚 stiff, enigmatic Batman in Tim Burton鈥檚 classic 1989 film. Others down the list include George Clooney and Val Kilmer, with poor Lewis Davis鈥檚 Batman from 1943 rounding out the bottom of the list.
Much hype is surrounding this newest Batman movie set to release in 2021. With the recent blockbuster success of 鈥淛oker,鈥 many are hoping Pattinson and Reeves can revive the darker side of DC Comics in the cinema. 鈥淲onder Woman鈥 and 鈥淎quaman鈥 were some of DC鈥檚 first true successes in the box office apart from Nolan鈥檚 Batman films, as 鈥淪uperman鈥 and 鈥淛ustice League鈥 failed to attract similar viewership to compete with Disney鈥檚 Marvel universe of movies. The "Watchmen" series on HBO has also helped push the franchise to new heights with dark, thoughtful storytelling.
