Nicholas Hoult On How He Found Out He Lost ‘The Batman’ Role To Robert Pattinson: “It’s An Emotional Blow”

deadline.com:

Nicholas Hoult was destined for the DC Universe, but before landing the role of Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman, he suffered an “emotional blow” when he found out he wasn’t going to star in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

In a new interview, the Skins alum opened up about discovering Robert Pattinson was landing the role of The Dark Knight. “I remember a week before we did the Batman test, I was driving in my car and I had the radio on and they were talking on the radio about how Rob was going to be the new Batman,” Hoult recalled on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And I was like, ‘It’s not confirmed yet!

I’m auditioning next weekend. Like, give me a chance.’” Pattinson went on to star in The Batman, which was released in 2022.

A sequel to the DC film is set to be released in 2026. Losing out on the role for Hoult was difficult for the actor saying, “It’s an emotional blow.” “Your imagination does not know … you are aware on a practical level: ‘I know I am auditioning against Rob.’ And Rob is fantastic in that movie,” Hoult continued. “That was the right decision.