Robert Pattinson may be heading to the Oscars next year, as A24 is submitting the actor for award consideration based on his performance in The Lighthouse. Reportedly, Pattinson's name will be submitted for the lead actor category while co-star Willem Dafoe will be submitted for the supporting actor field. This news is not particularly shocking, given the immense critical acclaim surrounding The Lighthouse following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Ahead of its release in theaters later this month, the movie has already established itself as one of 2019's most must-see movies, and the title has already been generating some Oscar buzz.

Directed by Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse serves as an homage to the classic black-and-white horror movies of old. Set in the 1890s, it follows two lighthouse keepers (Pattinson and Dafoe) and how their isolation brings about loneliness and an apparent loss of sanity. While both characters are clearly vital to the story, Robert Pattinson getting the lead actor nod is based on his character having more screen time than Dafoe's, while the narrative also tells the story from his point of view. Already referred to as an instant classic, the movie is clearly not quite like anything we've seen from Pattinson in the past and serves as a chance for the actor to show his doubters what he's really capable of.

If Pattinson is given an Oscar nomination for his role in The Lighthouse, it would mark the first time the actor has been acknowledged at the prestigious awards ceremony. He has been recognized many times at the MTV Movie Awards for his work with The Twilight Saga and won awards at the Strasbourg Film Festival and Hollywood Film Festival, but Pattinson has yet to be up for an Oscar. Meanwhile, Dafoe has been up for an Academy Award on four separate occasions, based on his roles in Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, The Florida Project, and At Eternity's Gate. However, Willem Dafoe has yet to take home the win, and The Lighthouse might give him the chance to finally do so.

Nabbing an Oscar nomination for a dramatic role can only help soothe the controversy surrounding Pattinson's casting in The Batman. When the actor was announced as the star of the movie from director Matt Reeves, the reception was not particularly warm. Many Batman fans expressed their concern over the casting by pointing to Pattinson's time playing Edward Cullen in the vampire romance series that is The Twilight Saga. It would appear these same critics have not seen some of the many dramatic acting roles Pattinson has taken on since, each of which is far removed from the Twilight movies. In any case, we'll all see how he does as Bruce Wayne when The Batman premieres on June 25, 2021.

Best of luck to Pattinson getting an Oscar nom for The Lighthouse. Meanwhile, the movie will be released in theaters on Oct. 18. You can check it out to see if it's really worth the Oscar buzz it's getting prior to its wide release, but considering its 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, those who've seen it early are clearly very impressed. This news comes to us from Variety.