Matt Reeves on wanting The Batman to deal with emotional stakes

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Although Ben Affleck played the role of Batman in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, SUICIDE SQUAD, and JUSTICE LEAGUE, we haven't had a true standalone Batman film since 2012's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. All that is set to change with THE BATMAN, which was in production before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to shut down. While director Matt Reeves waits to get back to work, he spoke with The New York Times about crafting a Batman film in his own vision, not the easiest task when you're dealing with one of the biggest I.P.s on the planet.

Of course these things have to be mined in a way that can make these companies money. You never know whether the people in charge of those I.P.s [intellectual properties] are going to be open to your vision. But if they weren’t, I wouldn’t have done “Batman.” I was like, look, there have been some great “Batman” films and I don’t want to just make a “Batman” film. I want to do something that has some emotional stakes.

"My ambition is for it to be incredibly personal using the metaphors of that world," Reeves continued. "It feels like this really odd throwback to the movies I came up on from the ’70s, like “Klute” or “Chinatown.” I’m not saying we’re achieving anything like that. Those are masterpieces. But that’s the ambition." Reeves also spoke with Nerdist, where he said that he knew he didn't want THE BATMAN to be yet another origin tale. Reeves said that Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is "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." Reeves continued:

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.

THE BATMAN stars Robert Pattinson (THE LIGHTHOUSE) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz (Big Little Lies) as Catwoman, Paul Dano (SWISS ARMY MAN) as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright (NO TIME TO DIE) as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis (STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI) as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell (DUMBO) as Penguin, John Turturro (The Night Of) as Carmine Falcone, and Peter Sarsgaard (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN) as DA Gil Colson. Matt Reeves has also teased that THE BATMAN will finally do justice to Batman's reputation of the World's Greatest Detective.

It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. 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. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.

THE BATMAN is still slated for a June 25, 2021 release, but it's possible that date may be pushed back depending on how long production is shut down.