This is a hot take for sure and one that I don’t make lightly. It’s premature because Pattinson has only co-starred in one serious and moderately well-known movie after the Twilight series (The Lighthouse), but by definition hot takes need to uphold the characteristic of predictor. It’s worth another blog post to examine which generation Pattison actually belongs to and whether or not future generations will have big stars given the decentralizing effects the Internet has had on the movie industry, but in this blog post I’ll do my best to convince you that Robert Pattinson is only one world-famous and brilliant director away from becoming one of his generation’s cinematic legend.
They both followed conventional paths in the film industry:
Historical accounting of both their careers aside*, they both gained international stardom through teen romantic dramas. DiCaprio did it with his featured roles in “Romeo + Juliet” and “Titanic” and Pattinson did it with his supporting role in one of the Harry Potter movies (you know the one) and his featured role in the “Twilight” series. Afterwards, both actors took a step away from blockbuster movies to develop their craft and reshape their image. DiCaprio starred in smaller movies like “Catch Me If You Can” and “Gangs of New York”, and Pattinson starred in independent films like “Good Time” and “High Life”. (I don’t consider “Gangs of New York” small but it’s box office was only 100 million compared to Titanic’s 2 billion, Avatar’s 2.7 billion and Pirates of the Caribbean’s 1 billion)
Don’t feel uninformed if you haven’t heard of any of Pattinson’s indie films because that’s the way he wanted it. Before DiCaprio’s collaborative partnership with Scorsese, he turned down the role of Anakin Skywalker in the “Star Wars” prequel to work on “Catch Me If You Can” and left the production of “American Psycho” to star in the heavily criticized “The Beach” because “he disagreed with Oliver Stone on the film’s direction”. Pattinson has been just as discerning with his projects and comparably focused on improving his craft as an actor.
Tab out of the Wikipedia page and fast forward to 2022. “The Lighthouse”, “The King”, and “Tenet” have been released and Pattison received critical acclaim for his performances (Pattinson based his performance in “Tenet” on the mannerisms of Christopher Hitchens by the way). “The Batman” will be released later this year barring any COVID related delays and Pattinson has signed a first-look production deal that “encompasses the whole spectrum of Warner divisions, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner. Bros Television, New Line Cinema, and HBO Max.”
He’s about to make the leap and we’re all here in real time to experience the transformation. I understand that the case that I’ve made is shallow. DiCaprio and Pattinson aren’t the only actors who’ve taken the aforementioned career path. That being said, one of my favorite things to do is to think about movie stars and unlike sports, there aren’t any performance metrics that lead to statistical data analysis and prediction which is what makes it fun for me. I’m not informed enough to make any predictions of which big and great director is going to swipe right and then eventually propose, but I have a feeling that it’ll eventually happen and look forward to watching the rest of Pattinson’s career and films as one of, if not the biggest, stars of this time.
