Director Matt Reeves Says THE BATMAN Will Be an Emotional Story and He Explains How Christopher Nolan Inspired Him

Whenever director Matt Reeves talks about his Batman movie, it seems like he's very calm and collective. He seems to know exactly what he wants this movie to be. He doesn't come off as a director who is feeling a lot of pressure on the filmmaking journey he's about to embark on, and that's a good thing! It means the guy has confidence in his plan with The Batman.

In a recent interview with Yahoo Movies, Reeves talks a bit more about his film and compares it to his Planet of the Apes films. One thing he is looking to do is tell a "very emotional Batman story." He explains:

"I do see a very strong parallel between [Batman and Caesar] because they’re both damaged characters who are grappling to the do the right thing in a very imperfect world. A world that’s filled with all of the corruption that is human."

He goes on to talk about what excites him about taking on The Batman:

"I think that the metaphors of both of the franchises [Batman and Apes] enable you to tell stories that have deep emotional resonance. That’s actually what excites me about it. It’s interesting because I was obsessed with both as a child, and yet there is something potentially very adult about what you can explore under the cover of that fantasy. That is what draws me to it, and that’s what I’m excited about." 

We already know that he plans on focusing the story on the hardcore detective version of Batman, which a lot of fans are excited about. He also wants to do that in an Alfred Hitchcock kind of way, which is pretty cool. 

The director goes on to talk about how Christopher Nolan inspired him. As you know, Nolan directed the incredible Dark Knight trilogy, which set a high standard for DC Films. Reeves says:

"What I love that [Nolan] did was that he took the genre seriously. What studios are willing to make at the moment is a very, very narrow band of films. What I discovered is that this genre has the potential to be about something more. You can use the metaphors of the genre to talk about [a lot]. I think the other thing that I really admire in what [Nolan] did was knowing what it is to make a big studio film, which often can fall into that sense of committee filmmaking where there’s an anonymity to the point of view of the film." 

I guess that means Reeves won't be putting up with studio executive interference. He goes on to say:

"What I admire in what [Nolan] does is that, despite being a filmmaker in an enormous system, his perspective comes through. That to me was very exciting, it’s always exciting when you see a film of his because of that. That’s what I feel like I’ve been trying to do, it’s trying to allow a perspective to come through despite the fact that we’re in this very large studio movie world."

Hopefully, Reeves can actually have the freedom he's looking for in the big Hollywood studio system when he's making The Batman. I don't think he would have taken the job if he didn't get it. A few months ago details surfaced about how he landed the gig and that the studio did give him full creative control, so hopefully that sticks as he starts to really get into developing the film. I hope that he gets to make the Batman film he wants to make because I like what I'm hearing so far.