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The Batman: Matt Reeves Turns In Script Focused On Young Batman
Matt Reeves has turned in the first part of a new script for The Batman, which reportedly may point to the end of Ben Affleck's time as Bruce Wayne as it will focus on a young Batman. It is has been a rocky road for The Batman over the last year and a half ever since rumors popped up that Affleck may want out. After once taking on the roles of star, director, writer, and producer on The Batman, Affleck dropped out of directing and writing, paving the way for Reeves to take over. Unfortunately, it has just been conflicting reports ever since on Affleck's future playing the character.
For reasons unknown, Affleck has reportedly been looking to exit the DC world. This hasn't been helpful, though, as Reeves has been planning the first part of a reported Batman trilogy. The latest rumors pointed to Affleck wanting to stay, but new information regarding Reeves' script may make that impossible, at least for this standalone movie.
THR broke down the latest developments at Warner Bros. concerning their DC Universe and dropped some news on The Batman. According to the trade, Reeves turned in "the first act of a new screenplay" over Memorial Day weekend. This is a positive sign for the film's development, but the focus of the story points to it happening without Affleck. Reeves' take reportedly puts the focus on "a young caped crusader," which likely rules out Affleck as the star of this movie - but does not completely take Affleck out of DC.
This is the first time reports have come out that Reeves actually has some part of a script ready for The Batman. The director said at the start of 2018 that he was in the outlining phase, meaning he was cracking the story but not writing an actual script just yet. A few months later and it looks like Reeves is finally making progress and delivering the first act of his story to executives. As long as everybody is on the same page and likes the direction Reeves is heading, then the script should be able to continue until completion and finally make it possible for The Batman to get going.
With part of a script in hand, this reported vision Reeves has would certainly make his movie a prequel. Affleck plays an experienced version of Batman in his 40s in his movies, so a younger version of the character all but guarantees a new actor will take on the leading role. This ultimately gives Reeves plenty of creative freedom as his trilogy could be placed decades before the events of Man of Steel and so on. It also falls in line with recent reports that Reeves was looking to reboot Batman.
However, this doesn't signify Affleck's complete exit from DC. It is well known that he has one more appearance on his contract. He could very well be interested in reprising the role one more time, just maybe not the three it would take to lead Reeves' potential trilogy. Affleck has spoken about finding a cool way to segue out, so he could still appear in Suicide Squad 2, The Flash, or any number of projects to make his last appearance. However it plays out, this is hopefully a sign that we'll get more legitimate info soon.
