The Batman is just a little over a month away from us. It is something that will impress a lot of moviegoers because of what Matt Reeves has done with every aspect of it. From casting choices to the characters and the overall realistic approach, everything feels top-notch as Reeves built it from the ground up. But as you’d be aware, he was initially offered to direct The Batman with Ben Affleck’s script. And now, he has finally revealed some details of Affleck’s approach, and why he decided to come up with his own story instead.
In an interview with Esquire recently, Reeves said that he was sent the script that Affleck had been penning down. In the past, Joe Manganiello (Deathstroke) called Affleck’s story the absolute best. And now Reeves also has nothing but positives about it. But, he didn’t want to take on the project because he couldn’t connect with it personally.
Matt Reeves Reveals Details About Batfleck’s Story
Matt Reeves said:
“I read a script that they had that was a totally valid take on the movie. It was very action-driven. It was very deeply connected to the DCEU, with other major characters from other movies and other comics popping up.
I just knew that when I read it this particular script was not the way I’d want to do it, I said ‘look, I think maybe I’m not the person for this’. And I explained to them why I love this character. I told them that there have been so many great movies, but if I were to do this, I’d have to make it personal, so that I understood what I was going to do with it, so that I know where to put the camera, so that I know what to tell the actors, so that I know what the story should be.
This take, I told them, pointing at the script, is a totally valid and exciting take. It is almost James Bond-ian, but it wasn’t something that I quite related to.”
Last year, Manganiello revealed several plot details and the inspiration behind Affleck’s movie. He even stated that the film would have featured Batgirl as well. All of that matches what Reeves says about the script as it would have been a movie deeply rooted in the DCEU. And the fact that it was a “very action-driven,” “James Bond-ian” modern era story full of cool gadgets and DCEU characters would make fans happy (and sad). People loved Batfleck’s physicality, and it seems that Affleck wanted to give us what we wanted. But sadly, he couldn’t finish the story.
Why Ben Affleck Dropped Out
In an interview with LA Times, Affleck said:
“I looked at (directing Batman) and thought, “I’m not going to be happy doing this. The person who does this should love it.” You’re supposed to always want these things, and I probably would have loved doing it at 32 or something. But it was the point where I started to realize it’s not worth it. It’s just a wonderful benefit of reorienting and recalibrating your priorities that once it started being more about the experience, I felt more at ease.”
Affleck probably would have been the only director who could have done justice to his script. But he wasn’t in a position to do it. He lost interest due to what was happening in his personal life, and what he went through on the Justice League set. So, we can’t complain about him bowing out. Hopefully, his final appearance in The Flash will give us the closure we need.
We also can’t fault Matt Reeves for wanting to do the thing he was truly passionate about. He was totally in the right to ask for his own story as he had a great vision of a Noir-driven detective tale which hasn’t really been done to this date. It does feel outright personal! And, WB saw promise in that vision, so they green-lit it. But how amazing it would have been to see both of these Batman stories come to life, don’t you think???
Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s The Batman hits theatres on March 4.
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