Ever since Ben Affleck announced that he wasn't going to play Batman in Warner Bros.' DC universe anymore, the highly anticipated standalone Batman film has been in development hell. However, since Cloverfield and War for the Planet of the Apes director and writer Matt Reeves took on the project, it's re-entered the pre-production stages oth loads of promise. As it turns out, Reeves has some big ideas for the movie, which is currently titled The Batman.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reeves confirmed that he was taking a crime thriller approach to his long-gestating Batman reboot. "It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," he explained. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been."
So far, no casting announcements have been made, and plot details have yet to be revealed. But Reeves did reveal that we'll be getting a "rogues gallery" of famous Batman villains. "The casting process will begin shortly," he explained. "We're starting to put together our battle plan. I'm doing another pass on the script and we'll begin some long-lead stuff to start developing conceptual things."
Reeves also revealed that the film won't be tied to the DC Cinematic Universe, and will stand on its own. And while this all sounds promising, Reeves suggests that we won't see the film until at least 2021. The upcoming Joker origin story will have to do until then.
