This morning, news broke that newcomer Jayme Lawson was joining the cast of Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Who was she playing though? No one knew. Now we do.
Gizmodo has learned Lawson is playing a character named Bella, “a grassroots political candidate running for office in Gotham.” And yes, Bella was the name of Batman actor Robert Pattinson’s love interest in the Twilight movies. We’re guessing that’s a coincidence.
While there are no characters named “Bella” in the Batman comics, according to Collider which initially broke the casting news, this is a substantial role. So it seems there’s some kind of election or political subplot going on in the film, along with Batman facing off with the Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman and more.
Lawson is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, one of the most prestigious art, drama, and music schools in the world. So she’s obviously a talent, and she’ll have to be as she joins a cast with Pattinson, Paul Dano, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Zoe Kravitz and Jeffery Wright.
The question everyone is wondering, though, is could Bella be Batgirl? Traditionally that character is Barbara Gordon and, last we heard, Barbara was getting her own movie, written by Christina Hodson. So if Bella is a superhero in disguise, she’s probably not her. But, these are comic book movies after all. Anything is possible and anything could change. (Plus, Barbara was briefly a senator in the comics, so a Bat-hero having political roots does have some precedent.)
Written and directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman opens in the U.S. June 25, 2021. An Australian release date is yet to be confirmed.