Fans love to imagine illustrious directors taking the helm of superhero movies; What if Martin Scorsese directed Joker? What if Stanley Kubrick directed Plastic Man? What if Ingmar Bergman directed Dazzler? And so on. After Ben Affleck exited The Batman, it was rumoured that Denis Villenueve was one of the directors that Warner Bros. was considering as his replacement. The gig obviously went to War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves and Villenueve would go on to helm his adaption of Frank Herbert’s Dune, but is a superhero movie something Villeneuve is even interested in?
Denis Villeneuve has already said that he’s not the biggest fan of comic book movies, but while speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Villenueve said that he’s at least open to the character of Batman.
Batman would be probably the only character that I could relate to. From what I read, like ‘Arkham Asylum,’ a book like that, I got in contact with when I was an adult. It’s for me, the character that I could connect to.
Josh Horowitz also asked Denis Villeneuve about those rumours that Warner Bros. was considering him to direct The Batman. Villenuve denied that the studio ever approached him, but admits that he may have just forgotten as he was deeply invested in Dune at the time. So, will Denis Villeneuve ever direct a Batman movie? I wouldn’t hold your breath, but if you still want to hold out hope, then Villeneuve has just given you the smallest kernel possible.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will hit theaters and HBO Max on October 22nd, followed by Matt Reeves’ The Batman on March 4, 2022.