JoBlo.com’s “WTF Happened to Robert Pattinson” looks back at how Rob went from Twilight to Mickey 17. Below is an excerpt of the print article:

“While caught in the Twilight saga, he could still express himself artistically with smaller projects, allowing him to play around more and make art. He literally played a character named Art in the film How To Be, soon after the first Twilight film. And that same year, he played one of the greatest, most eccentric artists of all time, Salvador Dali, in Little Ashes. He squeezed out a mustache and performed real sex acts on himself in a desperate display to show everyone that he was a serious actor, and because of that, we had to believe him. Gross. Along with the titles Remember Me, Love And Distrust, and the romantic drama Water For Elephants in 2011. Remember, this was all done in between his Twilight shooting schedule. This young man had conquered Hollywood as a movie star, so he had nothing to do but prove himself as an actor and artist. Many actors often join prestigious period pieces and work with auteur filmmakers to build their arthouse street credentials. Robert Pattinson did just that with Bel Ami and David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. Both were made in 2012, the same year he finally finished with his dreaded franchise of fangs and broke away after Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Terrified of former typecasting, Robert knew he could stop searching for challenging out-of-the-box roles, and when he read the script for The Rover, he knew this character would bring him attention from a different audience. Crippled with anxiety, Pattinson needed 45 mins to calm down for the audition. Of course, he nailed it, and his subtle and gritty perforce brought this film to Cannes. This was followed by another wave of kino, with films like another Cronenberg flickThe Childhood of a Leader, the debut film of The Brutalist director Brady Corbet. Then stealing scenes with his intensity and beard in The Lost City of Z. Screen time or box office didn’t seem to matter to Robert. He would rather inhabit a complex, troubled character and work with directors he respects. He risked it all and totally could have done an endless assembly line mindless shlock, but he didn’t. And when Pattinson finally joined the world of blockbusters and superheroes, he made sure that visionary directors like Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves were behind them. We will get to that in a bit. But in my humble opinion, it was the film Good Time that secured Pattinson’s artistic legacy. Finally, taking the lead in this Safdie brothers’ tense, incredible picture, which allows him to improvise throughout the entire film. The directors have him channel the PTSD Pattinson experienced from the mega fame and pressure Twilight brought him. And it totally worked. I always believed in him but never expected this level of skill. Erasing all memories and shining a glorious independent light of the shadow that was Twilight. Replacing the beautiful sparkles with the beautiful chaos that only the best cinema can give. Damsel, High Life, Waiting For Barbarians, The Devil All the Time and a chilling turn in The King were solid additions to his unconventional yet fascinating filmography but it was his.

Good Time performance that made Matt Reeves pick The Patt Man to be his The Batman. But before he could become the dark knight and battle The Penguin, Catwoman, and The Riddler, he had to light up the dark nights and battle seagulls, mermaids, and a guy who should have played The Joker in Robert Eggers’s masterpiece of madness, The Lighthouse. Critics were mesmerized by the hypnotic, fearless performances and the surreal atmosphere that Robert and Willem fit into perfectly. Watching these two dance around and yell at each other as they slowly slip into insanity is why God created actors. And for how the public now saw Pattinson, this was pretty much the rebranding of the century. He was free. He could do anything he wanted and possibly save the world of artsy-fartsy cinema in the process. And after doing his thing in Tenet, we thought this thespian could surprise us no more… so then he did the one thing nobody thought he would do… take on the superhero genre.

For many of us, our first reaction upon hearing the news of Pattinson playing Bruce Wayne was an insult. There were still plenty of uneducated buffoons who had somehow missed the resurrection and renaissance of this Robert. So whenever I heard anyone complain about “the Twilight guy” as the new Batman, I saw it as an opportunity to introduce them to his post-Twilight work, which helped ease their doubt that he would ruin their ruined childhood. The Batman grossed over $770 million. He did the impossible again and returned to his superstar blockbuster status, but this time, he did it via skills and dedication to his craft…. not just his pretty face. Sure, it may have been a bit emo, but the pain in his eyes was an undeniable fit to help elevate a character we thought we knew. Who knew that Batman needed a Kurt Cobain vibe? Robert knew. And his Bat voice wasn’t distracting this time. That’s where Pattinson shines; he can control his voice corals like a master, bringing the most exciting and unusual voices – for example, the English dub of The Boy and the Heron. He continues to push the boundaries of his voice by making a very interesting choice in Bong Joon-ho’s most recent film, Mikey 17. And yeah, even though my cousin says this one is a little too weird, it is a fitting partnership that I hope leads to other thought-provoking pictures.

But does that mean that the glory days of Mr. Pattinson are over? No freaking way. I’m sure this film will be more appreciated as time goes by, and I’m sure Pattinson doesn’t give a fuck. He is hard at work on his next transformation. He’s teaming up with Nolan again for his take on The Odyssey, a The Batman sequel is on the way and much more to look forward to from Robert Pattinson. His career is a testament to reinvention and rebellion. He defied the industry and took his own independent path to freedom. Balancing arthouse credibly with mainstream appeal. Constantly being reborn as an artist like a real-life Mikey 17… or a pretty vampire. So nobody should give a fuck about what the fuck happened to Robert Pattinson because he is doing just fine.