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The Washington Post

Batman begins again: Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are going back to the drawing board with their next solo Batman movie.
The Batman director Matt Reeves confirmed to MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that he and WB/DC will not use the script developed by Ben Affleck, Geoff Johns and Chris Terrio and will instead start over.
Film review: Matt Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes offers a compelling conclusion to rebooted trilogy
The Hollywood Reporter credited Batman-News with the assist in pointing out the informative bat-titbit.
The restart on a Batman movie script perhaps indicates what initially caused delays in Reeves signing on to be The Batman’s director. He could have wanted to assure he had a part in moulding the movies’ plot and didn’t want to walk into directing a movie that was already written.

The confirmation of a new script puts into question whether Joe Manganiello will still be a part of the movie as the main antagonist, Deathstroke. Affleck hinted on social media last August that Deathstroke would be Batman’s main foe in his first solo Batman movie.
Film review: The Lego Batman Movie – the Dark Knight rises in crime-fighting comedy
A battle against Deathstroke seemed at odds with all the Batman bits that have been seen in WB/DC’s current cinematic universe.

For one, why establish Robin/Jason Todd was killed by the Joker in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad if you’re not going to pit the Joker and Batman against each other in a future Bat-film?
And why show a dead Robin’s suit hanging in the bat cave in memoriam if you’re not considering adapting the “Red Hood” story line that saw Jason Todd come back from the dead to haunt Batman and the Joker as a lethal, masked vigilante?

It seems more likely that Jared Leto’s Joker would return in David Ayer’s Gotham City Sirens before he would show up in a new Batman movie.
One idea is for all the Robins to appear, including Dick Grayson (now Nightwing), Jason Todd (now the Red Hood), Tim Drake (now Red Robin) and Batman’s son conceived with Talia, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, current Robin Damian Wayne.
Adam West was the actor who will forever be known as TV’s original campy Batman
Embracing the Robins would be a way for the next solo Batman films to stand out from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy (which only hinted at Robin). A Red Hood theme would also give Reeves a chance to put more of a detective-like Batman on screen if Batman was investigating the identity of the Red Hood like he did in the comics.
Of course, none of this could happen. Perhaps Manganiello’s Deathstroke is still on the table as the main villain. Maybe Reeves has no interest in Leto’s Joker or the many Robins and will leave the branch of Batman’s sidekicks to be explored in the soon-to-be-developed Nightwing movie.
But Reeves saw something that he felt wasn’t right and felt it better to start over. That should let Batman movie fans know they’ve got a director that cares about getting right the one thing that matters most: the story.


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Ben Affleck

The solo Batman movie is moving ahead without Ben Affleck’s script. Could a new take get the project back on track?

It’s back to the drawing board for director Matt Reeves on The Batman

Monster T (Common, from left) The Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) as they appear in "Suicide Squad." (Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Comics)

This handout image shows a still of Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Photo / HANDOUT [20MARCH2016 THE REVIEW Cover story]

Matt Reeves, whose latest film, War for the Planet Of The Apes, opened this month, wants to get the story right for his Batman outing. Photo: AFP

Ben Affleck pulls out of directing  Batman film to focus on main role

Ben Affleck announced he will not be directing The Batman.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ben Affleck, left, and Henry Cavill in a scene from, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." The film received eight nominations for the 37th annual Razzie Awards on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, including one for worst worst picture. The awards will be announced on Feb. 25. (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Joe Manganiello will play supervillain Deathstroke against Ben Affleck’s Batman

Joe Manganiello will play the villain Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. Photo: AP

This handout image shows Joe Manganiello as Richie carrying Channing Tatum as Mike in Warner Bros. Pictures' "Magic Mike XXL.". 24OCT14 [23JULY2015 LEAD FEATURE 1 48HRS]

This handout image shows a still of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008). Photo / HANDOUT [26JANUARY2016 FEATURES ARTS]

Culture

Film & TV

It’s back to the drawing board for director Matt Reeves on The Batman
