THE BATMAN Director Matt Reeves Confirms the Story is Starting Over from Scratch

Originally, the script for The Batman was written by Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns, with Chris Terrio later doing a rewrite. After Affleck stepped down as director, War for the Planet of the Apes‘ Matt Reeves took over. While promoting his new movie in various interviews, Reeves has dropped some tidbits on what type of Batman movie he wants to make: noir, detective-driven, personal, etc. And he wants to make it the way he wants to make it, rather than be constrained by the studio.

Back when Reeves signed on for the movie, it was rumored that the script would undergo a page-one rewrite. This would make sense, as Reeves would likely want to tell his own story over something that’s been done before him. Now, it’s confirmed.

Appearing on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Batman-News), Reeves confirms that The Batman‘s story is starting over from scratch, and he’s not working off of Affleck and Johns’ script. “It’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.” He also reaffirms that production is not beginning this year, since he needs a break after working on War for the Planet of the Apes for three years.

Not too much was known about Affleck and Johns’ story for The Batman. Affleck did express interest in exploring the character’s detective skills, which Reeves obviously wants as well. Also, it was previously announced that Joe Manganiello will play Deathstroke, serving as the film’s main villain. However, it’s possible that Reeves may want a different villain and write Deathstroke out. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Stay tuned for more news as we have it.