'The Souvenir' Sequel Loses The Very Busy Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson is a busy fellow. He's shooting Christopher Nolan's new thriller Tenet, and then he's suiting up as the new Batman. As a result of this hectic work schedule, the actor has decided to drop out of yet another project he was attached to, albeit something on a much smaller scale: Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir sequel. The Souvenir sequel is expected to start shooting next month, and unfortunately, there was no way for Pattinson to remain in the film.

For the past few years, Robert Pattinson has been devoting all of his time to indie projects while eschewing blockbusters. Now, it looks like the tables have turned. Since Pattinson is so damn busy with the new Christopher Nolan movie, and then the new Batman movie, he's dropping out of Joanna Hogg's Souvenir sequel, according to IndieWire.

The Souvenir is an extremely slow-burning drama starring Honor Swinton Byrne as a young woman in a bumpy relationship with a troubled young man (Tom Burke). I saw the film at Sundance, and thought it was magnificent – although I imagine the movie's deliberate pacing will turn some casual viewers off. You have to really commit to the story Hogg is telling. As I said in my review:

Casual audiences will likely reject The Souvenir. Some cinephiles may even grow impatient with the day-by-day approach on display here. But the more of yourself you give to the film, the more you'll get in return. By the time the credits roll, you'll have felt as if you've spent an entire year with living, breathing people, not characters. The end result is stunning.

A Souvenir sequel was already planned by the time the film premiered at Sundance, and A24, who distributed the first film, will distribute the follow-up as well. While details of Pattinson's role in the sequel were a bit vague, the common assumption was that the actor would play a new love interest for Honor Swinton Byrne's character, which would've made him the second lead in the film. And that's apparently just too much work for Pattinson's current schedule. It's understandable, but a bit of a bummer – he likely would've brought something strong to the sequel. Regarding the sequel, director Joanna Hogg clarified that the movie will stand on its own and be accessible even if you haven't seen the first Souvenir (even though you really should). "It's another film. It's another film and it should stand on its own, not just as a two-part thing," the filmmaker said.

There's no release date set yet for the Souvenir sequel, but Tenet will arrive July 17, 2020, while the Pattinson-lead The Batman spreads its wings and flies on June 25, 2021.