8 Problems With Upcoming Movies (That Have Already Been Solved)
6. The Batman
The Problem: It was weighed down by the baggage of the DCEU, and the visions of several other filmmakers.
The Solution: Director Matt Reeves has been given complete creative freedom, and has re-built the project from scratch.
DC's latest standalone Batman movie has been in the works for over four years. It was in July 2015 when we first heard that Ben Affleck was in talks to write, star in and direct the film, but since then, the project has languished in development hell.
In the months after that initial report, it was confirmed that Affleck had written a script, and that he would indeed direct and star. We got word that Deathstroke was involved, and that things were shaping up nicely. But then, shortly after, he said that there wasn't a script, and that he might not do the film at all. The actor then officially stepped down as director (but stated he was still Batman), and Chris Terrio turned in a script rewrite.
That isn't even half of the twists and turns that this project has taken, and to sum it all up, it's been a right old mess. Stop us if you've heard this one before: a film gets announced, everyone gets excited, filmmakers are attached, announcements are made, the filmmakers leave, the project gets delayed, the studio provides non-committal updates, everyone gets worried, the studio craps the film out, and everybody hates it. For a while, The Batman was looking like another unfortunate addition to that pile.
But thankfully, as things stand, the movie is on much firmer ground. Matt Reeves came onboard in 2017, and has been shaping the movie from the ground up ever since. The Batman has shed Affleck, the DCEU, and all associated baggage, and will be a standalone story with a singular vision from a talented director. Not since the Nolan films has the Dark Knight's cinematic future looked so bright.