A lot has changed since Ben Affleck announced that he would be directing and starring in his own Batman film. Obviously, Affleck stepped down as director, and after a brief period of uncertainty it was revealed that Matt Reeves (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) would be stepping in to take over. Reeves has since revealed that he wants a “Hitchcockian” and noir-style Batman film that fully utilizes the Caped Crusader’s detective skills. We also recently learned that Affleck is staying on as Bruce Wayne/ Batman.
However, speaking on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the director dropped perhaps the biggest news of all. When asked about the plot of The Batman, Reeves said this: “It’s a new story; it’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.”
Almost a year ago fans received a gift in the form of test-footage for Ben Affleck’s Batman movie. The teaser showed a familiar villain walking down a long tunnel: Deathstroke. We learned that Joe Manganiello (True Blood) would be playing the mercenary, and that Deathstroke would be serving as the primary villain in The Batman. This sounded like an excellent idea: Deathstroke is every bit Batman’s equal in combat, and given Batman’s warehouse fight in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the fights between Batman and Deathstroke would be a spectacle indeed.
A new script doesn’t mean that Deathstroke won’t show up; he never said that specifically. However, Reeves clearly has a vision, and giving him as much freedom as he needs may result in an amazing film.
Meanwhile, speaking to Uproxx, Reeves discussed the creative freedom he demanded from Warner Bros. when taking on the job, stating that:
“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. And it’s kind of the way that I’ve always done it. And here’s the thing: I’m always happy not to do something. I’m usually looking for the reason to say no.”
What do you think? Do you still want to see Deathstroke in The Batman, or are you pleased to hear that Matt Reeves is starting from scratch with full creative control over the project? Let us know in the comments below…
Originally published July 13, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
