Matt Reeves Batman Director: Why He Took Job

Over the last month or so, the Batman movie has had a turbulent time.

Let me break it down for you:

• A portion of the movie had been re-written.
• Ben Affleck stepped down from director duties, with rumours that he even wanted to step down from acting duties.
• When a new director for the movie was being secured, a rumour then emerged that with the new director will come a new creative; the movie will be completely re-written.
• Matt Reeves was courted to take the helm of the project, but talks broke down.
• Then, in a dramatic turn around, it was announced that Matt Reeve will direct The Batman movie.

Matt Reeves Batman Director: Full Creative

So what the hell happened during Matt Reeves contract talks with Warner Bros?

Splash news have published a fantastic report, which holds some very telling Matt Reeves Batman Director information.

Going into contract negotiations, Reeves played on the turbulence the movie was experiencing to push for everything what he wanted.

When Reeves entered the picture, though, the DCEU was in another tough spot. After a very drawn out “will they or won’t they?” romance between Affleck and the crown jewel of the DCEU slate, The Batman, Affleck stepped down as the film’s director. This was mere weeks after asserting publicly that he was going to stay on. Reeves saw an opportunity to not only replace Affleck as the director of The Batman, but to also get into the driver’s seat for the project. He didn’t want to merely direct the movie that Affleck bailed on, but rather he wanted the power and control to make his movie. With Warner Bros. scrambling to replace Affleck after the most high-profile “director departure” in the DCEU’s history, Reeves knew he had leverage in the situation because the studio was vulnerable.

At first, Warner Bros decided they weren’t going to play ball. They’re no pushovers; why would they accept such conditions? They don’t want somebody new coming along and asserting creative control over the movie.

Warner Bros. tried to stick to its guns during these negotiations, with Johns being “the guy you have to answer to,” and seemingly stating that the script by Affleck, Johns, and Chris Terrio had to be the basis for The Batman. Reeves didn’t go for this. After places like Variety had proclaimed it practically a done deal, Reeves brought the studio to its knees once more by officially walking away from the negotiations.

The Splash news inside source claims that Reeves wanted “the same control over The Batman as Wan has over Aquaman.”

But they’d find somebody else to take over…right?

I guess Zack Snyder was busy, because Warner Bros caved.

It was a reality check for the studio. The Batman Movie was crumbling around their ears and they feared it was “rapidly becoming another black eye for the the DCEU.”

They went back to Reeves, told him he had the final say on all things The Batman, and that’s why he came back and officially signed on. In the press release from Warner Bros. on the hiring of Reeves, they made mention of his talent for “world-building,” as that seems to be the vital ingredient in their arrangement. Reeves didn’t want to simply be a director-for-hire; He wanted to build up a world for The Dark Knight.

What does this mean for the Batman Movie?

Personally, Matt Reeves settling for nothing less than creative control of the Batman is nothing but a good thing.

He wants all of the responsibility that being the Batman director brings with it and he wants to succeed. He wants to venture forth and build his Batman universe.

Talent men such as Reeves with this much passion and determination rarely fail; I think this is the start of something beautiful for The Batman movie.

I just hope that Ben Affleck joins him for the ride.

What do you think?

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