Back when Matt Reeves entered early negotiations to helm The Batman for Warner Bros., it emerged that the War For the Planet of the Apes director wanted to exercise full creative control over the Caped Crusader’s next solo outing.
It’s a similar approach Reeves took upon climbing aboard Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, when the writer-director shied away from Fox’s original vision of an apocalyptic blockbuster in favor of a much more nuanced, Western-esque feature about two tribes – two species – attempting to co-exist on the same plot of land.
With The Batman, it’s a little different; despite his initial desire to write, direct, produce, and indeed headline the DC standalone pic as Gotham’s watchful protector, Ben Affleck handed over the reins to Matt Reeves, who reportedly climbed aboard on the condition that he could direct from a totally new script. That’s something that the filmmaker reaffirmed while appearing on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. When quizzed about the movie’s original screenplay, one drafted up by Ben Affleck, Chris Terrio, and DC’s Geoff Johns, Reeves stated in no uncertain terms that The Batman will feature a brand new story.
Truth be told, if you’ve been keeping track of The Batman‘s storied production cycle, news that Reeves has rewritten the movie from scratch shouldn’t be all that surprising. The bigger question is whether this new incarnation of The Dark Knight’s standalone pic will still find room in its ranks for Deathstroke. While the character’s involvement, or lack thereof, hasn’t been confirmed just yet, Matt Reeves did fail to mention the masked vigilante, which really casts doubt over Joe Manganiello’s place in the upcoming spinoff.
Per Happy Sad Confused:
No [we won’t be using that], it’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.
Production on The Batman is expected to commence sometime next year, when Matt Reeves could launch the beginning of an all-new DC trilogy. Next up for Batfleck is the release of Justice League on November 17th.