In moviemaking, directors manage the extreme stuff. Matt Reeves, who made The Batman, etched some rough memories as well. He nearly said no to Warner Bros.’ Batman offer due to the film War from the Planets of the Apes.
It was a major project. However, Reeves adhered to his storytelling passion and made it work. It’s interesting to explore, how he pulled off Robert Pattinson’s Batman film. Reeves’ determination radiates through, even when facing the cosmic chaos of showbiz.
The War For The Planet Of The Apes Nearly Made Matt Reeves Quit Warner Bros’ Offer
Making The Batman wasn’t easy for director Matt Reeves. He nearly said no to the Warner Bros. deal since he was occupied with War for the Planet of the Apes.
But, since he’s a major Batman fan, he was unable to stand up to it. According to Matt Reeves’ declaration in The Batman lawsuit, the actor revealed,
“While I was in the process of finishing my directing work on War for the Planet of Apes, Warner Bros. contacted my agent in January of 2017 about the possibility of my directing a Batman film that was currently in development at the studio.”
Further, he added,
“At the time, I was so busy with my other work that I initially resisted the idea of a meeting, but as a lifelong Batman fan. I couldn’t help myself. I took the meeting.”
Warner Bros. initially had Ben Affleck’s vision for Batman as a main priority. Affleck was supposed to write and direct, a solo Batman movie, following his roles in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
It was going to pick up where Justice League left off, with Joe Manganiello playing Deathstroke, a villain causing problems for Bruce Wayne. But, things didn’t go according to plan, and Affleck eventually stepped down as director.
That is where Reeves came in. He assumed control and shaped the film we finally got to see in 2022, with Robert Pattinson as Batman.
But here’s a fascinating thing: Reeves found motivation for his Batman script from standing by listening to a musical gang.
Nirvana’s Music Greatly Influenced Matt Reeves’ Script For The Batman
The 57-year-old got some serious inspiration from Nirvana’s tunes while cooking The Batman script. He was flowing to their 1991 hit, Something in the Way, and it just clicked.
Instead of the standard rich playboy Bruce Wayne, Reeves went for a darker, really agonizing vibe, somewhat like Kurt Cobain in Gus Van Sant’s Last Days.
Fans flipped when they heard Something in the Way in The Batman trailer and, in the film itself (twice!). But, what they didn’t know was the amount Cobain and Nirvana influenced Reeves’ take on Bruce Wayne. According to Empire Magazine, the filmmaker disclosed,
“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way…That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the Playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse.”
Further, he continued,
“So, I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalized version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.”
That is the point at which he understood he needed a Bruce Wayne who’d experienced some really tough stuff and transformed into a recluse. In this way, rather than the typical Batman, we got a more emotional Bruce Wayne, played by Pattinson.
