The upcoming thriller Primetime is already getting attention after its first trailer, especially because Robert Pattinson is set to play former To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. Now Hansen himself has reacted to the casting, and his response has been brief and a bit uncertain.
The reaction came during a recent interview with NewsNation, where journalist Jesse Weber asked Hansen directly about Pattinson taking on the role. The film is directed by Lance Oppenheim and appears to focus on the media world surrounding Hansen’s work on the NBC program Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator, which aired segments that exposed alleged child predators through sting operations.
When shown the trailer, Hansen seemed surprised at first. He said, “What? There’s a movie trailer? What will they think of next?” His tone suggested he had not closely followed the project’s marketing up to that point.
Weber followed up, asking whether Hansen had any involvement or advance knowledge of the film. Hansen responded cautiously and pointed out that he was aware something had been in development. He said, “We had heard that there was something like this in the works. They reached out to me this week, and I’ve been asked not to talk about it a great deal at this point.”
He did not confirm any creative input or consultation on the project.
In the same interview, Hansen also commented briefly on the trailer itself. While he did not give a full review, he described it as “very dramatic” and said he would likely speak more about the film at a later time when he is allowed to share more details.
The trailer for Primetime shows Pattinson in a tense and serious role. In one moment, his character delivers a line that closely mirrors Hansen’s real-life TV persona, including the iconic introduction style used on Dateline NBC. The film also features actors Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and musician Phoebe Bridgers, and it appears to take a more fictionalized approach to the media attention and ethical questions surrounding televised sting operations.
In the teaser, Pattinson’s character is heard saying, “What would have happened if I wasn’t here. You see how this looks, right? At the end of the day, a man must be held accountable for the decisions that he makes, would you agree? Do you watch television? Well, there is something you should know. I’m Chris Hansen, with Dateline NBC, and you’re about to be a part of television history.”
To Catch a Predator originally premiered in 2004 as part of NBC’s Dateline. The show became widely known for its undercover sting format, where individuals were filmed arriving at locations after believing they were meeting underage people. Many of the segments resulted in arrests and sparked national discussion about online safety and law enforcement tactics.
The new film Primetime is scheduled for theatrical release this fall, although an exact date has not been announced. As interest grows around Pattinson’s portrayal and the story’s subject matter, Hansen’s reserved reaction has added another layer of curiosity to the project.
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