Matt Reeves says that the next Batman movie will be starting from scratch
With his War for the Planet of the Apes arriving in theaters this weekend, director Matt Reeves has been dropping a few details about his highly-anticipated follow-up project, Warner Bros. Pictures‘ next Batman movie. At one time believed to be called The Batman, plans for the Dark Knight’s next big screen adventure are still nascent. While the film may still retain that title, Reeves revealed in conversation with MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast that the next Batman movie won’t be using Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns‘ script.
“It’s a new story,” he says. “We’re starting again.”
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On the podcast, Reeves recounts the meeting with WB that led to him taking the Batman job. In conversation with Uproxx, the filmmaker elaborates on his decision to sign on, explaining his personal philosophy on the matter.
“I can fail for every single reason because of myself,” says Reeves. “I don’t want to fail because of something that I don’t believe in in the first place – because I’m not going to know how to do it. I can respect that somebody else might know exactly how to do it. Like there are plenty of things that I’m not the right director for and I love to go see those movies. I love to see what people can do. But I can only do what I can do, and so I have to work from that perspective for self-preservation. It’s not out of any kind of like, ‘My way or the highway!’ It’s because that’s the way I have to do it for me to feel confident in my choices.”
Reeves confirms that casting for the next Batman movie is still a ways off. A new script suggests that the film might not feature Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke as originally planned. In fact, it remains to be seen whether or not Affleck himself will end up reprising his role as Batman after the upcoming Justice League. Check back for updates on the project as they become available.
