Yahoo News Cloverfield's Matt Reeves WILL direct The Batman
In an unexpected reversal, DC Entertainment has locked down War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves to direct Ben Affleck in The Batman.
Just one week after reports of talks between the two sides breaking down, Warner Bros announced on Thursday (February 23) that Reeves has officially signed up for the Dark Knight's upcoming solo movie.
Warner Bros Pictures chief Toby Emmerich said in a statement that he was "thrilled" to hand over "the crown jewel of our DC slate" to the fan-favourite genre filmmaker.
(Matt Reeves just landed a huge DC Extended Universe job)
"Matt's deep roots in genre films and his evolution into an emotional world-building director make him the perfect filmmaker to guide the Dark Knight through this next journey," Emmerich added.
Matt Reeves also said: "I have loved the Batman story since I was a child. He is such an iconic and compelling character, and one that resonates with me deeply.
"I am incredibly honored and excited to be working with Warner Bros. to bring an epic and emotional new take on the Caped Crusader to the big screen."
Firming up a deal with Reeves - who brought Cloverfield, Let Me In and the most recent two Planet of the Apes sequels to the big screen -should have been the kind of positive buzz that The Batman needed after weeks of rough publicity.
However, Ben Affleck wasn't mentioned at all in Warner Bros' announcement on Thursday, leading to some dire speculation about his involvement moving forward.
Despite concern from fans, Warner Bros later confirmed to ComicBook that Ben definitely is still attached to star in The Batman. Phew!
The Justice League spinoff was originally supposed to be written, produced and directed by Ben, but he backed out of the directing job on January 31.
"There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions," he said at the time. "Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require.
"Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director.
"I remain extremely committed to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world."
An intense search for directors by Warner Bros and DC Entertainment quickly zeroed in on Matt Reeves as the frontrunner, until news broke over the weekend that negotiations had stalled. Clearly, any issues were resolved over the last few days.
Ben Affleck's script for The Batman has already been rewritten by his Argo collaborator Chris Terrio - but it's not clear if Reeves will want to start afresh with a brand new concept.
The original vision for Affleck's first solo Batman movie included The Caped Crusader sparring with the mercenary Deathstroke, with True Blood's Joe Manganiello already previewing his badass armour.
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