Matt Reeves described in detail how he treated “Batman” as a separate film, and sequels and spin-offs were not considered a guarantee.
Matt Reeves explained his approach to “Batman” as a separate film and does not take the potentially inevitable sequels and spin-offs for granted. Matt Reeves’ new take on “The Caped Crusader” was a box office and critical success, and it turned out that the wait was worth it after several delays caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans have hailed new interpretations of characters such as Batman (Robert Pattinson), Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Riddler (Paul Dano) as as close to their final cinematic versions as possible compared to previous adaptations.
With this level of success, fans have already had many reasons to think about the continuation of “Batman”. A spin-off series dedicated to “Penguin” has already received the green light for HBO Max, where Pharrell will again play his role as Oswald Cobblepot, and the series “Arkham” is also in active development. Although nothing official has been announced, it seems inevitable that a full-fledged Batman sequel is also around the corner, and Reeves seems to have a lot of ideas for Batman 2.
In an interview with the LA Times, Reeves spoke in detail about how he treated “Batman” as a separate feature film and did not pay much attention to potential sequels. After reflecting on what creative control was given to Reeves in this new version, the director was asked what further ideas he had for expanding the world he embodied on screen. Reeves responded by saying that he did not approach the film with the assumption that everything was still ahead, and focused on telling a closed story that ensured that the new Dark Knight himself would be a worthy addition to the canon. Check out his full quote below:
“When making the film, I always felt that I would never consider it as the first chapter, because the first chapter suggests that there are more chapters. I wanted to make this movie an enjoyable experience so that people could have a new experience. a version — a fresh version — of a character that they loved, you know, people — that the world has loved for more than 80 years, and I think if we succeed on this front, I know I have a lot of stories that I want to tell, and then we’ll do a second chapter, but not because that we didn’t make this part complete.”
Reeves’ comments demonstrate the director’s desire to outline the building blocks of his new universe before thinking about future tie-ins. Batman itself was originally conceived as a completely different project, originally announced as taking place in the Expanded DC Universe and being a solo outing for Ben Affleck’s Batman, which the actor was supposed to write and direct. The project was then handed over to Reeves, who was still going to make a film at the DCEU starring Affleck while the actor and Warner Bros. were on their way. they did not disperse, and Reeves was given full creative control with a complete rethink. As part of this process, Reeves may not have taken the safety of making a movie in a popular, established franchise for granted and focused on making Batman a standalone movie that audiences would like to see more of. .
Despite this, Batman sequels are coming, and fans are speculating about how they can see the world of the new Caped Crusader expand over the next few years. The Penguin series will shed more light on Farrell’s Cobblepot and possibly move further into the underworld of Gotham and the Drops racket in which the character was involved. dedicated to a feature film or which have already received numerous incarnations in cinema, such as “The Joker” by Barry Keoghan. Viewers also have a long list of requirements for Batman 2, from a story dedicated to sinister villains like the Court of Owls or Mr. Freeze to the inclusion of Robin as Batman’s little friend. Whatever happens in the future, fans can appreciate the fact that Reeves has shown the foresight to build a solid foundation with Batman, rather than being distracted by extensive plans for the future.