Director Matt Reeves is not only bringing a fresh perspective to Warner Brothers’ planned The Batman film, he’s bringing a fresh story too.
In an interview with M-TV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the War For The Planet Of The Apes director stated that previous screenplay for the project has been set aside.
It’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.
The previous script for the project was co-authored by Warners’ current Batman himself, Ben Affleck, and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns with the intention that Affleck would direct the project as well. When personal issues led to Affleck dropping the directorial gig, the studio found themselves looking for a new director, ultimately settling on Reeves.
The fact that Reeves is starting over with a fresh script doesn’t come as mich of a surprise. He had previously stated that his vision for the film was that of a noir. There was no mention as to whom was slated to wrote this new version, but odds are good that Reeves himself will do at least one draft.
What remains to be seen is what this means for Joe Manganiello. The actor had previously been tapped to play the villainous mercenary Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke. There is no word if the character will be in this new iteration.
In the interview, Reeves stated that he would be taking a short vacation now that his work on War For The Planet Of The Apes had finally finished before he would dive into work on The Batman.
