Robert Pattinson and other unlikely action stars front upcoming blockbusters
As the star of upcoming film The Batman, Robert Pattinson leads the list of new-generation action stars who are fronting this year's blockbusters - a deviation from Hollywood's casting formula of alpha males.
Robert Pattinson
The Batman (opens March 3)
Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. Christian Bale. Ben Affleck. Robert Pattinson?
When it was announced in June 2019 that the British heart-throb was cast as the Dark Knight in director Matt Reeves' reboot, which he wrote with Pattinson in mind, something died in many a fanboy.
After all, this is Edward Cullen from The Twilight Saga (2008 to 2012). You know, that romantic sparkly vampire with good hair.
Who would have imagined that, 14 years after the first teen fantasy film, Pattinson would come full circle almost - from eternally tortured bloodsucker to eternally tortured billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Now that The Batman is finally opening in cinemas here on March 3 - after being delayed twice owing to the pandemic - the world can finally judge, over a three-hour runtime, if the man is indeed worthy of the cowl (early reviews suggest he is).
Not that Pattinson, 35, is just another pretty face who cannot act.
Since Twilight, he has eschewed blockbuster franchises and earned cred for his art-house fare, many of which feature him in uglified roles, such as The Lighthouse (2019) and Good Time (2017).
Touted as a detective noir thriller in which the titular vigilante pursues a serial killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano), The Batman - set in his second year of crime-fighting - marks Pattinson's return to leading-man status and mainstream movie-making.
His Caped Crusader is also the only one in movie canon to sport smudgy black eye make-up once the mask comes off, putting the goth in Gotham City.
Considering Reeves' version is brooding, tormented and emo, the generous guyliner is a genius look.
The 55-year-old American film-maker was drawn to Pattinson's chameleonic quality and cast him because he was "keen to show a different side to the character".
Reeves said in the film's production notes: "I wanted him to have almost a recluse rock 'n' roll vibe, a cross between Kurt Cobain (frontman of 1990s grunge band Nirvana) and Howard Hughes (the aviation mogul).
"He's an obsessive guy, and that was one of the things that was exciting to me about Robert Pattinson - he has the intensity to bring that to life."
Pattinson said: "I couldn't quite tell why Bruce Wayne felt so radically different, and then I realised it's because he's not a playboy in this story. That is such a key element of previous Batman films, so it does feel really strange. Bruce is so alone and isolated, and that is fascinating.
"I knew Matt saw him as a slightly nihilistic character, but there's something more emotional there too."
Jared Leto
Morbius (opens March 31)
From Suicide Squad (2016) to House Of Gucci (2021) to his Oscar-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), less is more when it comes to the 50-year-old.
Even then, some of his over-the-top performances can be exhausting to watch.
Superhero flick Morbius is based on the Marvel Comics character and part of a new shared universe of films inspired by Spider-Man characters such as Venom.
It is the true test of whether Leto can carry an entire movie and be a box-office draw like Venom star Tom Hardy - and if people can tolerate 108 minutes of the polarising method actor.
His character, Dr Michael Morbius, is dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and tries a risky cure that afflicts him with a form of vampirism. A darkness inside him is unleashed.
Leto, also the frontman of rock band Thirty Seconds To Mars, told Variety magazine: "I think it's the first time I've starred in a big movie like this, so it was new territory. I generally hide out in the shadows."
Ezra Miller
The Flash (opens Nov 3)
DC Comics fans who felt that Barry Allen's presence in Justice League (2017) went by in a flash will get to spend more time with the beloved character in the standalone spin-off movie.
American actor-singer Ezra Miller, 29, was praised for being one of the few bright spots of the earlier ensemble blockbuster, providing comic relief and being the quirky "kid brother" alongside alpha males such as Henry Cavill (Superman), Ben Affleck (Batman) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman).
And he did all this with zero muscle definition.
Miller's true flex goes beyond quips and the Speed Force.
He is the first queer actor to play a major superhero. He identifies as non-binary and is a gender-fluid style icon.
In The Flash, the Scarlet Speedster - who has been harbouring deep-seated grief from losing his mother and his father's imprisonment - travels back in time to prevent her murder, leading to unintended consequences.
And that is where Miller's dramatic chops come in, as evidenced in his dark turns as dangerous wizard Credence Barebone in the Fantastic Beasts movies (2018 to 2022) and a teen psychopath in his breakthrough film, We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011).
Whether he is a sidekick or solo star, casting does not get more progressive and unconventional than this.
Anthony Ramos
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (opens June 8, 2023)
The seventh instalment of the Transformers film franchise does not open till next year.
But casting someone known primarily for his musical theatre background as the dude who gets caught up in the ancient conflict between those massive robots in disguise is a wild enough swerve to get people's attention.
Anthony Ramos is an American actor, singer and songwriter of Puerto Rican descent who originated the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton (2015). He also appeared in the stage and screen versions of In The Heights (2018 and 2021).
Set in the 1990s, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is a sequel to Bumblebee (2018), where factions such as the Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons join the existing battle on Earth between Autobots and Decepticons.
Noting that it differs from the previous films in terms of Latino representation and diversity, Ramos, 30, told Variety: "It was Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg, Hailee Steinfeld and me. It's very different. Transformers has transformed."
He is keeping the momentum going by playing a key role in the new Disney+ superhero series Ironheart, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and slated to premiere at the end of 2022.
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