It’s been quite a winding road for “The Batman,” with Ben Affleck set to direct and star before stepping down from behind the camera, and Matt Reeves taking over (but not before he also considered bailing), while the entire process kept feeding into the perception that DC Films is a huge mess. But don’t say that to Joe Manganiello, who is slated to play the villain Deathstroke in “The Batman,” and has been arguably more chatty about the film than Affleck. He doesn’t like the way the press has been reporting about the movie.
Chatting with Robert Irvine Magazine (via JoBlo), Manganiello provides an update on when filming might start, says that everything is fine with “The Batman,” and that the press should stop overreacting:
Last year, I said [it would shoot in] May and that was my understanding. It depends. They have big plans for this movie. Whether or not we start exactly on that date or in June, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Here’s the thing: The creative process needs to be respected and no one involved in this film wants to make anything less than an unbelievable film, a legendary film. The movie will start shooting whenever those pieces are in place and we know this is gonna be something that we’re proud of. What we’re not gonna do is be backed into a start date, scrambling to get something off the ground just to get it off the ground. Everyone involved wants to make this the best film possible, so that’s really what it’s about. It’s funny how the media likes to run with, “Oh there’s trouble!” “Oh, the script needs to be revised!” They’re drama queens. There’s a creative process, and everyone on the cast and crew wants to make this the best movie possible. So that’s what we’re gonna do. When we start shooting it, we’ll start shooting it. It will be soon, I can say that. Here’s the thing: No one wants to create that superhero movie that’s polarizing to fans and critics. Rest assured, we’re gonna do this thing right.
Ah yes, the ol’ we’re-making-the-best-movie-possible card. It’s not the first or last time we’ve heard that, and really, it’s on DC Films at this point. At the moment, there’s no official start date or release date for “The Batman.”
