Robert Pattinson joins Werner Herzogs Queen Of The Desert

Robert Pattinson is continuing his extremely smart run of capitalising on his Twilight fame to work with some incredible directors on interesting projects: the latest being Werner Herzog’s Queen Of The Desert .

Pattinson’s got to be commended for opting out of the easy lane post- Twilight ; where he could have no doubt gone for identikit lead roles in romantic teen fluff, he’s instead opted for more challenging material. As he promotes Cosmopolis in the States, news has reached Variety that he’ll join Naomi Watts in Herzog’s next.

Watts had previously been cast in the lead role as Getrude Bell, an English writer famed for her travels (and contribution to policy-making) in the Middle East. Pattinson will play T.E. Lawrence (of Lawrence Of Arabia fame) who was also noted for his travel writing.

Bell isn’t the only British figure Watts has on her plate. She’s currently filming Princess Di biopic Diana . Pattinson will next be seen in David Animal Kingdom Michôd’s The Rover , before starring in Saddam Hussein drama Mission: Blacklist .

Herzog will next be seen in an acting capacity in Jack Reacher .

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.