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"The Batman" Director Matt Reeves Explained Why He Didn't Adapt Ben Affleck's Script

As we all know, in the original plan, The Batman would be written, directed and starring Ben Affleck. However, due to the actor's personal vicissitudes and Warner Bros.'s unclear plans for the development of the DC Extended Universe, Affleck then decided to abandon the project and the character.
The film was later rewritten and conceived as part of a universe other than the DCEU, also known as Earth-2, with the direction passed to Matt Reeves while Robert Pattinson was chosen to interpret a young version of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the second year of activity.

Source: Esquire

Now, during an interview with Esquire magazine, Matt Reeves himself has confirmed that following Ben Affleck's resignation, he was offered to take over the reins of the project. While he found the script written by Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns absolutely valid, Reeves revealed that he would have preferred a more intimate and personal approach.
“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,” he said.

Source: Esquire

In Affleck's script, Batman was supposed to clash with Deathstroke who for the occasion would have had the face of Joe Manganiello. Furthermore, as mentioned above, other members of the Justice League were also expected to appear and it was an element that led Reeves to confront the studio.
"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," he explained. "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.”

Source: Esquire

Matt Reeves' vision evidently took hold of the executives of the majors. The director was busy filming War for the Planet of the Apes and he couldn't get to work on The Batman before production ended. However, the response from Warner Bros. upper echelons, as stated by Reeves, was surprising.
"To my utter shock and surprise, they said, ‘you know what, we really would like you to do this. And we will wait,” Reeves added.

Source: Esquire

As for Ben Affleck, we will see him once again making a final appearance as BruceWayne aka Batman in the highly anticipated The Flash, which will also feature Michael Keaton's famous Batman.
Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mattson Tomlin and Reeves himself, The Batman will star Robert Pattinson as the iconic DC superhero. In addition, we will also see Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Gil Colson, and Jayme Lawson will make her debut as an actress with a new character named Bella Real.
It was also confirmed a few days ago that the film will run for 2 hours and 47 minutes, excluding the credits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqqft2x_Aa4
The Batman will arrive in cinemas on March 4, 2022.
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