Matt Reeves The Batman remains a mystery. Actually, the studio remains extremely close-lipped about the film in any capacity. A few tidbits leak from time-to-time, but for the most part, Reeves has any information regarding the film on lockdown.
The film’s not an origin tale for the Caped Crusader. Rather, it’s set early in Batman’s career as a vigilante. So, how will Reeves approach his young Bruce Wayne and Bats?
Ina recent interview with Nerdist, Reeves says that he wasn’t sure Warner Bros. would like his idea. His version of the character has a humanist bent to it, grounding the character emotionally and psychologically:
“It’s not even like that’s an approach that I take, like it’s some kind of idea of, ‘Wouldn’t it be great?’ It’s sort of the only thing that allows me to understand how to do it.
I can only understand where the camera goes and how to talk about the story, how to write the story, how to talk to the actors, if I understand emotionally what it is I have to do. Otherwise I’d be lost.
I wanted to do not an origin tale, but a tale that would still acknowledge his origins, in that it formed who he is. Like this guy, he’s majorly struggling, and this is how he’s trying to rise above that struggle.
But that doesn’t mean that he even fully understands, you know. It’s that whole idea of the shadow self and what’s driving you, and how much of that you can incorporate, and how much of it you’re doing that you’re unaware of.
There’s something in there that feels very psychological, very emotional, and it felt like there was a way of exploring that along with the corruption in this place, Gotham. That feels very current. I think it always does.
There’s almost no time when you can’t do a story about corruption. But today, it still seems incredibly resonant and maybe, from my perspective, maybe more so than maybe at other time.
I just felt like well, what I’d love to do is to get a version of this Batman character where he’s not yet fully formed. Where there’s something to do in this context with who that guy would be in this world today, and to ground him in all of these broken ways.
Because at the end of the day, this guy is doing all of this to deal with trauma in his past.”
Production on The Batman is on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any potential start-back dates are hypothetical at the moment due to the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak.
Reeves indicates that his favorite previous World’s Greatest Detective films are Tim Burton’s Batman Returns and Christ Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
It’s the inherent darkness that Reeves will tap into for his film, making his Batman a ‘Dark’ Knight indeed.
