Now that Robert Pattinson is officially the new Dark Knight, some details about the film – including how Pattinson landed the gig – are starting to step out of the shadows. According to insiders, only two possible actors were ever considered for the role – Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Learn how director Matt Reeves decided on Pattinson, and what The Batman plot involves, below.

Hoult vs. Pattinson: Dawn of Justice

THR has a behind-the-scenes look at how The Batman ended up with Robert Pattinson as its Caped Crusader, and the piece confirms that the only two actors who were truly considered for the part were Pattinson and Nichols Hoult. Back in March, director Matt Reeves’s alleged shortlist for the part popped-up, and included names like Jack Reynor, Alexander Ludwig, Jack O’Connell, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. But THR stresses that “the two actors [Pattinson and Hoult] in short order became the only contenders.” There’s always a chance actors like Taylor-Johnson and Reynor were mentioned at some point, but it sounds as if they were never seriously considered.

While Hoult is said to have impressed Reeves, the filmmaker seemed especially interested in Pattinson:

Reeves is said to have spent hours poring over the two actors’ work and met with them in April. Pattinson has far more name recognition than Hoult, but it was his work in Good Time and High Life, among others, that Reeves kept on coming back to.

Reeves also is said to have written the part with Pattinson in mind:

Reeves is said to have considered Pattinson, 33, early on in the process, says one source, even though no outreach was made. Reeves didn’t even know if the actor wanted the part.

During the week of May 20, Pattinson and Hoult both shot screen tests wearing a Batman suit from a previous Bat-film, and after some brief deliberation, Pattinson ultimately won the role.

Not An Origin Story

With all this talk about Reeves wanting a younger actor to play his Batman, rumors abounded that we were getting yet another origin story. But that’s apparently not the case. In The Batman, Bruce Wayne/Batman is “around 30 years old”, but “the story is neither another rehashing of his origin nor the tale of a seasoned crimefighter ruling Gotham City. He is Bruce Wayne still trying to find his footing on his way to becoming the genius detective.”

This sounds a bit similar to the comic Batman: Year One – a story that was also mined for Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. It’ll be interesting to see how Reeves handles this. We really do not need yet another origin story – please, for the love of Bill Finger, don’t show the Waynes getting shot in Crime Alley yet again; we get it.

I’m assuming the film will open with Bruce Wayne already patrolling Gotham in his cape and cowl, but still learning the ropes of the job. That could make for an interesting scenario, as we haven’t quite seen that on the big screen before. In Tim Burton’s Batman, Batman was already pretty well established in Gotham. Batman Begins took almost a full hour before Bruce Wayne even suited up, and by The Dark Knight, he was already a bit of a legend. Reeves’s The Batman looks to be aiming for something in between.