Director Matt Reeves is gearing up the world for his latest film, War for the Planet of the Apes, but his next feature already has everyone’s attention. Speaking with New Trailer Buzz, the director was asked about the upcoming movie and offered a brief reveal on his take for the film, saying:
“One of the reasons I was drawn to it is I had a similar fascination to Batman when I was younger that I had with the Apes series, which I was obsessed with. I see a parallel emotionally between Caesar and Batman, in that they’re both characters who are tortured and trying to sort of grapple within themselves to find the way to do the right thing in a very imperfect and, to some degree, corrupt world. It’s really that emotionality that I’m interested in.
“In all of my films, what I try to do, in an almost Hitchcockian sense, is use the camera and use the storytelling so that you become the character, and you emphasize with that point of view. I think there’s a chance to do an almost noir-driven, detective version of Batman that is point-of-view driven in a very, very powerful way, that hopefully is going to connect you to what’s going on inside of his head and inside of his heart.”
It was previously thought shooting would begin later this year on The Batman, but it now looks like cameras won’t roll until 2018. The film has yet to receive a proper green light from the studio, and it is believed Reeves is doing a massive rewrite that could radically alter Ben Affleck’s original vision for the story. Reeves also won’t have time to meet with any acting talent on the project until at least July.
In The Batman, Ben Affleck is expected to face off as the title hero against Joe Manganiello, who will play Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, in the film. Additional appearances by Jeremy Irons as Alfred and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon are expected to happen as well.
Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) will direct the film. An official release date for The Batman, originally written by Affleck and Geoff Johns, hasn’t been set. Affleck will next appear as Batman in Justice League, opening in theaters on November 17. You can view photos from that film in the gallery below.
