Considering the critical success of War For The Planet Of The Apes, it's not surprising that its director, Matt Reeves, can push back a little on certain aspects of The Batman.
In a recent interview with MTV, Reeves announced that he's dropped the script penned by Affleck, Chris Terrio and Geoff Johns in favour of a new script. According to Reeves, The Batman will be "a new story."
"It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool," said Reeves. As well as this, Reeves also talked about approaching The Batman in a sort of "Hitchcockian way," and that he hasn't talked about casting or the like just yet - which means Josh Gad as The Penguin isn't going to be happening any time soon.
As well as this, in another interview with Uproxx, Reeves was questioned about how and why he signed on for The Batman. One of the questions asked was about assurances that he could make the film his way, which Reeves explained in a pretty honest way. "When I come in, what I say is, “Look. First of all, you’re asking me if I’m interested in this franchise. I am. I love this franchise. I’ve loved it since I was a kid. But here’s the way in which I’m interested in it. And if you’re not interested in it in that way, then that’s totally fine.” And the good news was, they said, “Yeah, we’re really interested in that way.” And I remember this on Dawn, too. There would be moments where I came in for a pitch that was a certain version of the movie, and somewhere along the way, because they didn’t know me or whatever it was, they’d say, “Why don’t we do this?” And I would just simply say, “But that’s not the movie that we talked about. That’s not the movie I want to do.” And I have to say that they always backed down when it came down to that."
It's good to know that someone like Reeves is taking over The Batman, as he has a clear sense of what he wants to do with it, how he's going to make it and he isn't afraid to walk away if it's not to his liking. The fact that Warner Bros. are happy to give him the latitude to do what he wants with it - especially after all the stories about David Ayer's film being recut and the Director's Cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
The Batman hits Irish cinemas some time in 2019.
Via MTV / Uproxx