Matt Reeves, the director behind two ‘Planet Of The Apes‘ movies including “War For The Planet Of The Apes,” is being tapped to direct “The Batman.” No deal has been signed, but an offer is out to the helmer. Actor Ben Affleck had been set to direct and co-write the film, but finally bowed out of the project due to the massive scale while weighing several other factors (which we broke down here).
READ MORE: 5 Reasons Why Ben Affleck Wisely Bailed On Directing ‘The Batman’
Reeves is also known as a J.J. Abrams protege who got his start directing “Cloverfield,” then following it up with the critically acclaimed remake of “Let The Right One In.” Reeves’ last two films are “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War For The Planet Of The Apes.” The filmmaker’s first directorial effort is actually “The Pallbearer” and, fun fact, as a film school mate of James Gray he co-wrote “The Yards.”
READ MORE: ‘The Batman’ Sends Up Signal, Looking For A New Director
Reeves’ name was on a shortlist unveiled last week that included Gavin O’Connor, Denis Villeneuve and more. But clearly, Reeves broke through the pack. It’s really a smart move. Reeves is an intelligent director in the mold of Christopher Nolan. He understands stakes, epic scale and stories with rich emotional intelligence. “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” was a solid, sure-footed and entertaining blockbuster and the follow-up ‘War’ promises much of the same. However, directing “The Batman” will obviously put him into a new strata many filmmakers never reach.
I am slightly surprised to hear the news because after directing ‘Dawn,’ Reeves seemed a little tired, all the while knowing after a little break he’d be right back into the Apes world. You’d think after two back-to-back tentpoles a helmer like Reeves would want to take a breather and possibly make something smaller. Perhaps the call of the bat signal is just too tempting. Either way, he’s about to be under a level of expectations and scrutiny he’s never experienced before. But for a struggling DCEU and Warner Bros. trying to get their universe on track, Reeves is certainly a move in the right direction.
PS, if you’re seeing our headline reading “Affieck” and “Affleck” it’s some weird bug on our site and we’re looking into it. No, really.
[Deadline]
