Morning, dearies! Lots of good stuff this week, from superhero casting to obscure cat movies, and of course, the end of Game of Thrones!

On the 17th, Janelle Okwodu asked if Robert Pattinson (or Nicholas Hoult) can save Batman over at Vogue
“The actor, who has spent the last decade honing his skills in indie fare with auteurs like Claire Denis and David Cronenberg, may have moved past his broody vampire beginnings, but the Internet never forgets. As the much-meme’d antihero of Stephenie Meyer’s once-inescapable YA franchise, many found it hard to imagine him shaking off his character’s sparkle and taking on the grittiness associated with modern incarnations of Batman.”

Also on the 17th, Ciara Wardlow of Film School Rejects looked back on Game of Thrones, and argued that the journey was worth it, no matter the ending:
“Game of Thrones is the biggest thing to ever happen on television—one of the great pop culture phenomena of our times. There’s never been anything like it before. Some might be quick to say there won’t be anything like it ever again. Even though I’ve never been accused of being much of an optimist, I don’t think this will prove true. From Trilby in the 1890s to Harry Potter in the 2000s, history indicates another story is bound to burn its way through the Zeitgeist like a particularly infectious virus sooner or later. Considering the current state of things, it seems like a television series—likely something from a streaming service—is the most probable candidate for the next Biggest Thing Ever.”

Zeynep Tufekci, of Scientific America, discussed why so many fans hate the last season of Game of Thrones, also on the 17th:
“Well-run societies don’t need heroes, and the way to keep terrible impulses in check isn’t to dethrone antiheros and replace them with good people. Unfortunately, most of our storytelling—in fiction and also in mass media nonfiction—remains stuck in the hero/antihero narrative. It’s a pity Game of Thrones did not manage to conclude its last season in its original vein. In a historic moment that requires a lot of institution building and incentive changing (technological challenges, climate change, inequality and accountability) we need all the sociological imagination we can get, and fantasy dragons or not, it was nice to have a show that encouraged just that while it lasted.”

One of the biggest losers on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Justin Peters, reflected on the show and its cancellation for Slate on the 21st:
“There is something liberating in reaching for something meaningful even if you aren’t sure you’ll get it. I guessed on the $500,000 question because that was the only way that I would ever get to the million-dollar question. That decision took guts and stupidity. But mostly guts! And once I realized I’ve got guts, I decided to reorder my life around them. Since Millionaire, I’ve done scores of things that I had always wanted to do but never took the leap to pursue. I’ve toured the country dozens of times with my comedy duo. I’ve founded a theater in New York and produced a series of comedy festivals. I’ve walked away from job opportunities that would have made me unhappy; I’ve pursued satisfying projects even though the financial rewards were slim. This may be the path prescribed by countless self-help books; it just so happens that Millionaire was mine.”

On the 22nd Hanna Pape talked about the criminally underrated animated film Felidae for 25 Years Later, and gave me an excuse to post some cat content:
“Over the past 25 years, Felidae has been all but forgotten by a vast majority of the world. Only the cult following it has gathered celebrates it now. The subject matter of the film is mostly to blame for its low popularity; some people just don’t care for this type of film. It has earned a rank among other films that break the mold of animation being only for children which I personally applaud it for.”

Finally, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone interviewed Timonthy Olyphant about Deadwood, also on the 22nd:
“It’s a performance he might not have given. Owing to his hard feelings about his original work on the series, Olyphant was reluctant to sign onto the movie at all. That’s one of many topics we discussed over the course of an hourlong conversation on the movie’s set. He didn’t want to do this interview either, postponing our scheduled chats several times. But as we sat on a bench outside Bullock and Starr’s new hotel (which stands where their hardware store was on the original show), Olyphant opened up at length about the experience of doing the original three seasons, his memories of the abrupt cancellation, his affection and admiration for series creator Milch and much more.”

Enjoy!