Matt Reeves To Direct The Batman

Matt Reeves – known for his work on Cloverfield and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – has been chosen to direct The Batman, the standalone DC universe movie starring Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight, Warner Bros. announced in a statement on Thursday. He has been brought in to fill the position Affleck vacated last month.

In addition, Reeves will also serve as a producer on the film, the studio revealed. There’s no word on whether he has signed up for a multi-picture deal. The omission of Affleck’s name from the announcement added fuel to the fire that he may not return to the character after this year’s Justice League, but Warner Bros. confirmed later he “is still attached to star”.

“I have loved the Batman story since I was a child,” Reeves said. “He is such an iconic and compelling character, and one that resonates with me deeply. I am incredibly honored and excited to be working with Warner Bros. to bring an epic and emotional new take on the Caped Crusader to the big screen.”

Reeves recently finished work on War for the Planet of the Apes, the third entry in the franchise, and his second Apes venture personally. The sci-fi war film will release July 14, with a lot riding on it after the critical acclaim garnered by its predecessor.

In that light, Reeves seems to be the right guy to take on another big franchise, though a Batman movie comes with its own set of demands, and expectations. Warner Bros., for its part, seems to have confidence in their new man.

“We are thrilled to have Matt Reeves taking the helm of Batman, the crown jewel of our DC slate,” Toby Emmerich, president and chief content officer, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said. Matt’s deep roots in genre films and his evolution into an emotional world-building director make him the perfect filmmaker to guide the Dark Knight through this next journey.”

The Batman is expected to begin filming later this year, as a finished script was still not in place as of last month, according to Affleck. Geoff Johns, Chris Terrio, and Affleck have all contributed.

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Sam Favate

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What a major fail that Warner could not get a movie out in 2019, the year of Batman’s 80th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the Tim Burton film.
 

Malcolm R

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I think DC needs to take a break from Batman (and Superman, for that matter). Recent films featuring the character have disappointed, and they've been having much more success bringing characters to the screen who have not had feature films in the past (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Suicide Squad).

Batman has been the primary focus or featured character in nine films in less than 30 years. I think the audience is burned out.
 

Jake Lipson

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What a major fail that Warner could not get a movie out in 2019, the year of Batman’s 80th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the Tim Burton film.

We've seen what happens when studios rush movies to make release dates. I'd much rather wait until 2021, anniversary or not, if the movie is going to be better for the wait.

I think DC needs to take a break from Batman

I think the success of Aquaman probably emboldened them to do this. They were going to do it anyway, but Aquaman debuted in Justice League, which was not well-received, and yet his standalone film has become an enormous success despite that, and that's featuring the same actor. If Reeves is able to make his version distinctive and different than what we've seen before, I doubt the Snyder films (and Suicide Squad) featuring Batman will be an issue. Of course, if this one isn't good either or feels derivative of past versions, then the audience will notice. But Reeves did a great job with his two Planet of the Apes films, and I'm curious about this because he's directing it.

By the time this film comes out, it will have been nine years since the last standalone Batman film in The Dark Knight Rises (unless you count The Lego Batman Movie, which is a Batman film, but feels like a separate thing.)

However, I do think the proximity of the release date to the James Gunn Suicide Squad project is a little weird since they seem likely to bump up against each other. This one is June 21 and that one is August 6, 2021. Especially if both filmmakers are given creative control and don't have to link their movies to each other, that feels like a strangely compressed release timetable for these projects.

Disney is doing it with Captain Marvel and Endgame, but those at least are directly connected to each other.

Belated edit only to correct a typo.
 
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Tino

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That’s too bad. Affleck was the best Batman I thought.
 

Jake Lipson

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That’s too bad. Affleck was the best Batman I thought.

Although I didn't like BvS, I did like Affleck in BvS. I think it was a bad movie, but it wasn't his fault.

That being said, I totally get why they will be going with a different actor. By putting Affleck in it, it is immediately connected to two films in which he was a major presence which were not well-received critically and by most audiences. By recasting it, they give Reeves more freedom to do his own take on the character, and they don't have to have the baggage that comes with BvS and JL.

If it's a prequel, they can more or less ignore the question of whether it's in the same continuity as those films. Or they can just reboot it altogether. Wonder Woman and Aquaman have worked for them inside the DCEU continuity, but Batman and Superman certainly did not.

I think letting Reeves do what he wants is the best approach. Last time they were trying to figure out how to reboot this character on his own -- before shared universes became the thing to do in Hollywood -- Warner Bros. let Christopher Nolan do whatever he wanted with the character, and the result was arguably the best superhero trilogy of all time. Matt Reeves deserves to be given the same opportunity.
 

Tino

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I totally get why they will be going with a different actor. By putting Affleck in it, it is immediately connected to two films in which he was a major presence which were not well-received critically and by most audiences.
To be clear, this was Affleck’s decision to pass as his plate is full. Warner is not replacing him in this prequel for the reasons you listed.
 

Sam Favate

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IMO, there have only been two actors that just didn't fit as Batman, and that could well be because of the writing in those movies: Val Kilmer and George Clooney.

Personal favorite: Adam West. I think Batman has become too dark. I crave some of the lightness that West brought to it.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I absolutely love the Nolan films, and I suppose it’s possible that they’ll never be bettered in my eyes.

But there are some things they didn’t do that I’d welcome a chance to see. The Nolan films were pretty closed, a story with a definitive beginning, middle and end. I’d love to see a new Batman series that was more ongoing, that wasn’t so much about a once-in-a-lifetime battle and instead had more of a feeling of “I’m Batman and this is my day-to-day job.” I’d love a great take on Batman that was ongoing rather than trilogy-based.
 

Jake Lipson

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To be clear, this was Affleck’s decision to pass as his plate is full. Warner is not replacing him in this prequel for the reasons you listed.

Where have you seen reported that it was his choice to leave?

I’d love a great take on Batman that was ongoing rather than trilogy-based.

That obviously requires an actor who is willing to do it long-term, like Robert Downy, Jr. with Tony Stark. It's not impossible to find one, but might be challenging, especially given the amount of fanboy scrutiny they will face once they step into the role. Affleck didn't appear to handle it well. We'll see what happens.

The Nolan films are what made me like the character. I wasn't a Batman fan before them, and I still would identify myself primarily a fan of his movies. However, I'm up for seeing what Matt Reeves does with it. I don't think it's a question of "better." Batman has been around in comics for so long that there's got to be more adventures he can go on that we haven't seen before. It's very possible to have multiple good versions of the same character -- Spider-Man had two good movies with Tobey Maguire, one decent movie with Andrew Garfield, and is now having a great run with Tom Holland and now the Into the Spider-Verse version running concurrently. So, the new Batman just has to be a good movie that's a different take than Nolan's. I think Matt Reeves has him in it to do that. We'll see.

Belated edit only to correct a typo.
 
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Tommy R

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I REALLY dug Batffleck, not as much as Keaton, but a not too far second. Sad to see him go so soon. I think he would have been great in a Bat film this sounds like it'll be.
 

Tino

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Where have you seen reported that it was his choice to leave?
The Deadline Article

“Affleck, we understand has a busy plate: As Deadline exclusively broke he is starring in and producing the feature adaptation of Kate Alice Marshall‘s novel I Am Still Alive,which Universal won in a competitive bidding scenario. The two-time Oscar winner is also starring in the Warner Bros.’ Gavin O’Connor drama Torrance. Affleck worked hard on The Batman story, but knew he wasn’t the right one for this particular version. A search is underway for a new Dark Knight.”
 

Sam Favate

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I'm encouraged that Reeves has said his Batman will focus on the character's detective skills, something that's rarely been used in the films. We could do with a noir Batman.

Truthfully, what I'm really so tired of is making everything so personal for the hero. Why can't Batman - or James Bond or any character - be someone doing his job, rather than working through massive personal angst?
 
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