The Batman: Matt Reeves Opens Up About His Take on the Franchise

The Batman: Matt Reeves opens up about his new take on the franchise

During a recent interview with The Daily Beast, The Batman director Matt Reeves has opened up about his different and more personal approach for Warner Bros.’ highly-anticipated DC film. He revealed that his connection and love for the beloved character was the main reason why he was drawn to the project and why he was able to envision something different for the long-running franchise.

“The way I loved Apes is the way that I loved Batman, actually. The only two franchises that might have been something I would have connected with, amazingly, are the ones I was approached by.” Reeves explained. “…My thing about it, on both of them, is that I had a particular take that, for me, was personal. I feel like if I can’t approach something through a perspective that resonates with me on some personal level, I don’t know where to put the camera, and I don’t know how to talk to the actors. I also felt like there have been some great Batman movies, and I didn’t want to just do a Batman movie. I wanted to do a Batman movie that could be different.

He added, “I pitched them what I would do, and I said, look, I appreciate that you want me to do a Batman movie, but I don’t want to just do a Batman movie; I want to do a Batman movie that has a chance to be something different, and humanist, and can use the metaphors of the genre.”

In addition, Reeves was also asked about how the Robert Pattinson-led film’s billionaire superhero aspect will work in today’s context as Christopher Nolan’s previous adaptations were rooted in sociopolitical concerns. He responded by assuring fans that his upcoming film is being made in regards to today’s context.

“To me, that’s the joy of working with it. You use those surface elements of it, and you explore them in a way that, I feel, they haven’t been explored yet. Nolan had a brilliant take on them, and so did Burton. Everybody has a particular take. For me, I knew that I would be coming into a history of some pretty great movies.”

He continued, “All those aspects you’re talking about, they all fit within a context. The movie that we’re making, which is now on pause, is absolutely made in the context of today. It doesn’t ignore any of that. I think that becomes incredibly exciting. It’s like any great tale that you can keep revisiting though the context of the times, and also through the context of human experience, and find new ways to come at the character that illuminates something that’s meaningful to you, and hopefully meaningful to an audience.”

Starring alongside Robert Pattinson’s Batman/Bruce Wayne is Zoë Kravitz (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mad Max: Fury Road) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (Love & Mercy, 12 Years a Slave) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the Hunger Games films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the Transformers films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (The Magnificent Seven, Black Mass) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson (Farewell Amor) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the Planet of the Apes films, Black Panther) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Dumbo) as Oswald Cobblepot. Twins Max and Charlie Carver have also joined the movie in “sizable roles.”

Plot details are still being kept under wraps but The Batman is reportedly set to explore the Dark Knight’s younger years with Reeves further hinting at the film’s connection to the iconic comic book story arc “Year One” by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli which was published in 1987.

Reeves and Dylan Clark (the Planet of the Apes films) are producing the film, with Simon Emanuel, Michael E. Uslan, Walter Hamada and Chantal Nong Vo serving as executive producers.

The Batman opens in theaters on June 25, 2021.