The Batmandirector Matt Reeves has revealed that he has decided to start from scratch on the project, leaving Ben Affleck’s original script behind. A lot of changes have been happening behind the scenes onThe Batman, and while at first the changes may have been seen as detrimental, it now appears that the movie is finally on the right track. Reeves has been out promoting his latest movie, the excellentWar for the Planet of the Apesover the last few weeks and he’s been talking a lot about his involvement inThe Batmanand his vision for the Dark Knight.
Reeves was recently onMTV’s Happy Sad Confusedpodcast where he revealed his plans to start fresh forThe Batman. The director was asked if he would be working off of Affleck’s original script and he said that he would not. Reeves explains.
“No. It’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.”
Not much information has ever been revealed about the original script other thanBen Affleck, Chris Terrio, and Geoff Johns wrote it, and that Affleck wanted to use a villain that had not been seen on the big screen before.
Reeves has beendrawing comparisonsbetweenWar for the Planet of the Apes' Caesar and Bruce Wayne, calling them both “damaged characters who are grappling to do the right thing in a very imperfect world. A world that is filled with all of the corruption that is human.” The director has also taken time to praiseChristopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogyfor bringing a seriousness and maturity to the comic book movie genre, something that he his obviously hoping to do with his version of the Caped Crusader.
The director has also talked about combining Nolan’s sense of “something more” with a look into the character that has not been seen yet. CitingHitchcock as an influence, Reeves appears to want to give fans a peak into the psyche ofBatman, what it’s like in his head, which has gotten many fans excited. This has also lead to speculation that we might get to see the return ofBatman’s detective roots, a skill that has been relatively ignored on the big screen aside from the Wayne Tech toys that seem to do all of the work for him.
Matt Reeves latest reveal aboutThe Batmanmay have just thrown all of the former speculation out the window, especially when it comes tochoosing a villain. As stated before, Affleck wanted a villain that hadn’t been represented on the big screen yet. Deathstroke seemed to be the choice at the time, but it is unclear where the villain role will go at this time. Though Josh Gad has been seen around the DC offices, even posing for a picture holding a copy of a comic book with the Penguin on the cover. Will Penguin be the main villain? We’ll just have to sit back and wait. In the meantime, Ben Affleck will be appearing at the San Diego Comic-Con next week for the Warner Bros. panel onJustice Leagueanother movie that has seen a bit of behind the scenes changes.
