10 Ways Matt Reeves Can Reboot Batman

It's fair to say that Warner Bros' plans for a shared DC cinematic universe haven't quite panned out the way they hoped.

Panned is certainly the operative word based on how every film bar Wonder Woman has been received, but there's renewed hope for the upcoming Batman solo outing.

Director Matt Reeves recently confirmed that he's clearing out the belfry and starting from scratch on the project - tentatively titled The Batman and pencilled in for 2019 - which likely means we're in for a straight-up reboot.

The War for the Planet of the Apes filmmaker has fed Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns‘s script thrown into the shredder and revealed plans to tell "a new story", and this could be the best thing to happen to the Caped Crusader on film since Christopher Nolan rebooted the series in 2005.

The return to the drawing board has put every confirmed detail about the project in doubt, particularly Joe Manganiello's casting as the villainous Deathstroke and even Affleck's mooted return to the cape and cowl.

But that might not be such a bad thing for the project as the potential of a rebooted Batman is pretty much limitless.

The Dark Knight's immediate cinematic future appeared shackled to Warner Bros' lukewarmly-received DC shared universe films, but that shouldn't have to be the case.

While Matt Reeves's upcoming solo adventure doesn't necessarily have to close the door to future team-ups entirely, a standalone narrative should be its sole focus.

Reeves shouldn't have to worry about maintaining connections to the other DC films, or be pressured into setting up the next Justice League with an obligatory post-credits scene. Cut the umbilical cord and let Bats enjoy some alone time.

The movie's focal points should be Batman, Bruce Wayne and Gotham City, not what's going on in the wider cinematic universe.

This approach didn't do the acclaimed Christopher Nolan trilogy any harm - just imagine how much it would have cheapened these films if Superman had flown overhead before the end credits rolled to set up a crossover, or Green Arrow popped up of the shadows to lend a hand.

Reeves could also learn a thing or two from Wonder Woman, which had only minimal ties to the other movies. There was no post credits scenes and an email exchange between Diana and Bruce Wayne was about the extent of the shared DNA.