Jayme Lawson
The Juilliard School

Holy Rachel Dawes, Batman!  Yesterday it was revealed that recent Juilliard graduate Jayme Lawson had been cast in an unknown role in the high-profile Matt Reeves comic book movie ‘The Batman’.  Her role was not revealed, leading to some speculation, but as it has now been revealed, that she isn’t playing a character from the comics.

io9 reports that Lawson is playing a character named Bella, “a grassroots political candidate running for office in Gotham.”  Collider, which initially broke the news of Lawson’s casting, states that this is a “substantial” role.  Of course, Robert Pattinson, this movie’s Batman/Bruce Wayne, is most famous for his role as Edward Cullen in the ‘Twilight’ movies, in which Kristen Stewart portrayed his love interest, named… Bella.  So it’s possible that ‘The Batman’ will alter this just to avoid comparisons.

 

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There is already some speculation that this is a pseudonym and that Lawson actually will play a character from the comics, possibly Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, who had a political career pre-‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’, eventually becoming a Senator.  But there are plans for a separate ‘Batgirl’ film, with a screenplay by Christina Hodson, and the rumor was that Warner Brothers wanted to wait and see how ‘The Batman’ did before deciding on whether or not to continue making additional movies in this continuity, which looks to be separate from the established DC film universe.

‘The Batman’ also stars Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as The Riddler/Edward Nashton, and Jeffery Wright as Commissioner James Gordon.  It has recently been reported that Colin Farrell is in talks to play The Penguin, with Andy Serkis in negotiations to portray Alfred Pennyworth.

 

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Jayme Lawson has never appeared in a film, but among her stage credits are playing the lead in ‘Hamlet’, a role usually reserved for a male, plus Juliet in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and Lady Macbeth in ‘Macbeth’, and currently, she is starring as Lady in Red in ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide’/’When the Rainbow Is Enuf’ at the Public Theater.

‘The Batman’ is due to swing into theaters on June 25, 2020.