How Matt Reeves' Batman Movie Should Be Made

More Burton, less 'badass'.

by Ewan Paterson
DC

Matt Reeves' Batman film. Some days, it just doesn't feel like it's going to happen. With all the speculation regarding Ben Affleck's association with the project, how much of the film is still his and whether or not it would be connected to the DCEU - followed then by a period of ridiculous silence - to call this film's production temperamental would be the understatement of the year.

Exacerbating these apparent misfortunes are the wish-lists every DC fan is sure to have regarding the upcoming Batman reboot, with those on either side of the DCEU aisle torn over whether Warner Bros. have done right by the character so far, or whether they've botched him completely from Batman v Superman through to Justice League.

And while I can't do anything to assuage the fiery nature of online debate, it is possible to map out just what I'd like to see in the Caped Crusader's latest feature. For better or for worse, it's clear that the DCEU is a divisive beast of a franchise and that - no matter which way you look at it - isn't easily maintainable.

So, how should Warner Bros. go about making their latest Bat-reboot? With so many interpretations to draw from - each with their own unique tone, feel and style - Reeves et al. are spoiled for choice with what to do. Here's how they should proceed.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.