The Batman director Matt Reeves has weighed in on the reaction to Robert Pattinson being cast as Batman in the upcoming film. His casting generated a lot of debate and discussion, including backlash from some corners of the internet, and Reeves said this was always going to be the case, given the history of the series.

"There has been no actor, when his announcement that he was going to be playing Batman in one of the feature films was announced, that has not received a backlash," Reeves told Esquire.

The people who lashed out at Pattinson's casting haven't seen enough of Pattinson's post-Twilight work, Reeves said. "The people who were excited, I knew it was because they knew Rob's work post-Twilight. The people who weren't excited, I knew it was because they didn't know Rob's work post-Twilight," he said.