In a shocking turn of events, The Hollywood Reporter is telling us tonight that roughly a week after signing on to helm The Batman for Warner Bros., Matt Reeves has now departed the project. No reason was given for his exit, but the outlet notes that talks could potentially resume when “heads cool.” Despite that, this doesn’t sound very promising and it seems that the studio is, once again, left without a director.
Making this even more surprising is the fact that just this morning, we had heard that Reeves had potentially signed on for more than one DC Extended Universe film and was getting quite involved in things. What exactly’s going on behind the scenes is hard to say at the moment, but it all paints a pretty worrying picture for both The Batman and the studio’s cinematic universe as a whole. From what we’ve heard, Warner Bros. will still make the film no matter what, but it seems like they’ll need to find someone else to helm it, after both Affleck and now Reeves have departed the director’s chair.
We already know that Don’t Breathe helmer Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott were being eyed by WB at one point, so it’s entirely possible that one of them could step in here, but so far, nothing’s been confirmed just yet and all we can tell you is that talks with Reeves have broken down this afternoon. Even though THR mentions that things could pick back up, we don’t see that happening and as of now, it’s probably safe to assume that The Batman is without a director.
Of course, this is far from the first time Warner Bros. has struggled to lock someone in behind the camera for one of their DC Extended Universe films, as Wonder Woman lost Michelle MacLaren early on and The Flash has also had its fair share of problems, losing two directors already. Fans are understandably skeptical about the DCEU as it is after Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad and this type of news certainly won’t help them feel any better about the future of their favorite heroes.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted as soon as we get further updates, but until then, head on down to the comments section and let us know who you’d like to see take the helm of the Caped Crusader’s solo outing now that Affleck and Reeves are out.
