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Matt Reeves Says The Batman Is Inspired By Jekyll And Hyde

There are many different ways to approach Batman. The Dark Knight can be portrayed as a bastion of justice, an ultra-violent vigilante or, if you really want, a figure of camp fun who likes to wear nipples on his Batsuit. As director Matt Reeves has been given free reign by Warner Bros. to do what he likes with upcoming solo movie The Batman, fans have been curious to find out exactly how the filmmaker will interpret the character.

There are many different ways to approach Batman. The Dark Knight can be portrayed as a bastion of justice, an ultra-violent vigilante or, if you really want, a figure of camp fun who likes to wear nipples on his Batsuit. As director Matt Reeves has been given free reign by Warner Bros. to do what he likes with upcoming solo movie The Batman, fans have been curious to find out exactly how the filmmaker will interpret the character.

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While speaking to IndieWire, Reeves gave us a fascinating insight into how he sees the iconic DC hero. When asked the big question of who’s the character’s real persona, Batman or Bruce Wayne, Reeves explained that his script for The Batman is influenced by the classic story of Jekyll and Hyde, with the two halves of the man co-existing as the light and dark parts of his personality.

“Gosh, that’s a tough question. I think that it’s interesting, because one of the things that I’ve found interesting, just as we’re working on the story, is looking back at Jekyll and Hyde, and the idea of your shadow-self, and the idea of, we are all multiple things. It’s different aspects of who we are, and I think there are times when maybe the surface of Bruce is not really who he is, but that’s his disguise. There are times when Batman’s the disguise, but there are times when his true essence comes out, because by being veiled, a kind of instinctual side comes out that’s very pure.”

The fact that Reeves seems to be interested in diving deep into the duality of Batman is exciting, as the psychology of the character hasn’t really been closely scrutinized on screen since Tim Burton’s pair of movies in the late 80s/early 90s. Burton was similarly fascinated by how Bruce Wayne was essentially two people in one and Michael Keaton got that across perfectly in his performance.

But who will be the actor to do the same for Reeves? All signs point to Ben Affleck not returning for The Batman, and many names have already been banded about. Most recently, Oscar Isaac was said to be a shoe-in until that appeared to have been debunked. Jon Hamm has also put his name forward, but he’d probably be an outside chance as Reeves is apparently keen to cast a much younger actor.

Regardless, we’ll keep you updated on more news about The Batman as and when it comes in, so be sure to stay tuned.