Matt Reeves says why he gravitated to solo Batman film besides "it's Batman"

Matt Reeves says why he gravitated to solo Batman film besides “it’s Batman”

May 2nd 2017, 2:13pm

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Like most warm-blooded people (and I'd assume even some cold-blooded Reptilian creatures in people suits) can agree – Batman is awesome. So it's no surprise that – even after the lukewarm (to put it kindly) reception to BATMAN V SUPERMAN, SUICIDE SQUAD, and the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE film – people are still excited for more adventures of the Caped Crusader. It also helps that, although star Ben Affleck had to drop out as director, his replacement is the accomplished Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD, the upcoming WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES).

Anyway, here's what Reeves had to say about the solo BATMAN project:

It’s a strange thing to be involved in the two franchises which were the two that I was connected to most as a child…I just was obsessed with Batman when I was a kid. What I find so interesting about him as a character is that, as far a superhero goes, he’s not superhuman, he is a person. And he is a tortured soul who is grappling with his past and trying to find a way to be in a world that has a lot that’s wrong with it and trying to find a way to reconcile all of that.

Don't get me wrong, Reeves is a strong director, and things like Batman being a superhero without powers or being a tortured soul are certainly a couple of the main reasons Batman has stayed relevant for so long. But it's also basic Batman 101 shit. I was honestly kind of hoping maybe there was an aspect to Batman that hasn't been explored yet that he'd like to highlight – that maybe he was drawn to it precisely because of a new take. I mean, we've seen tortured Batman before. Though, with rumors that the script is being entirely thrown out with a page 1 re-write, Reeves might not even know what direction it's going in yet anyway.

Now, there's no official release date for THE BATMAN pencilled in yet, though with Reeves still fine-tuning and promoting WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, it seems unlikely cameras will start rolling before 2018.