Matt Reeves, director of the upcoming “The Batman,” says the film won’t be a part of the DC Extended Universe that includes the Justice League and Wonder Woman, but rather a standalone Bat-story.
In an interview with Los Angeles’ KCRW, the filmmaker said: “Well, I have a vision for a way to do something with that character that feels like it resonates with me personally, and a perspective that can grow out into other things. When they [Warner Bros.] approached me, what they said was ‘look, it’s a standalone, it’s not part of the extended universe.’”
The filmmaker has previously said he set aside an original script written by Ben Affleck and DC entertainment president Geoff Johns, and is “starting again” on a completely new take. “No. It’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool,” Reeves told MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast last month.
Affleck and Johns wrote their script while the “Argo” Oscar-winner was still set to direct as well as star in “The Batman.”
The concept envisioned by Affleck and Johns featured Deathstroke the Terminator as the main villain, and Joe Manganiello was hired to play the supervillain. Whether that’s still the case remains to be seen, and Manganiello himself recently said he isn’t sure if he’s still in “The Batman.”
