Robert Pattinson has spoken about landing the role of Batman in the forthcoming movie The Batman.

The actor was confirmed as the next star to take the iconic role earlier this year, with his first appearance as the superhero set to arrive in cinemas in 2021.

The casting gives Pattinson his most mainstream role since he played Edward Cullen in teen vampire series Twilight. Speaking to Esquire about landing the part, he said: “It’s kind of insane. I was so far away from ever thinking it was a realistic prospect. I literally do not understand how I’ve got it, at all.”

Some DC Comics fans were not happy with the idea of Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, prompting Batman producer Michael E. Uslan to defend the actor. He told fans to “trust the filmmaker and give the filmmaker, and the filmmaker’s vision, the benefit of the doubt”.

Pattinson previously teased an “interesting direction” for the new movie, saying it would be “something from the comics which hasn’t really been explored yet”.

The actor will replace Ben Affleck as the superhero in The Batman. Affleck was initially intended to play the character, write the script and direct the movie in the solo film. The Batman is set to be released on June 25, 2021.

Meanwhile, the bat signal was recently shone around the world to celebrate the Caped Crusader’s 80th birthday. 11 cities worldwide saw the emblem projected onto buildings in honour of the first-ever Batman comic being released on September 21, 1939.

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