On May 31, Robert Pattinson of “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” fame officially signed on to play the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming film “The Batman,” according to Variety. The film, scheduled to be released June 25, 2021, was originally slated to be directed and produced by Ben Affleck who was also to star in the project. “The Batman” will be set in the DC Extended Universe, a cinematic universe of films centered around DC Comics characters.

This would have been Affleck’s fourth time playing the Caped Crusader after his appearances in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League.” However, according to a January 30 article by Deadline Hollywood, Affleck decided to step down from the role Batman after leaving the director’s chair in February 2017.

The film’s current director, Matt Reeves, has stated that the film will focus on Batman earlier in his career and will act as a prequel to the other films in the DCEU including “Justice League,” “Aquaman” and “Shazam!” Seeing how the film focuses on this younger incarnation, casting the 33 year-old Pattinson instead of the 46 year-old Affleck is a smart choice. Pattinson has also had experience in franchise films with his roles as Cedric Diggory in the “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and Edward Cullen in the “Twilight” franchise.

Reeves has also stated, according to Slash Film, that “The Batman” will focus on Batman’s detective skills and will have a noir theme throughout the film. Warner Brothers has also confirmed that “The Batman” will be the first in a prequel trilogy of films centered around Batman, according to Deadline. Reeves’ previous films have included “Cloverfield” as well as the science-fiction action films “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”