The Batman Parts Company With Director Matt Reeves

No Dark Knight For Apes Director

♦Well that didn’t take long. After last week’s announcement that Matt Reeves (War For The Planet of The Apes) would be helming The Batman, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that he has already left the project…

A week after entering negotiations to direct The Batman, Matt Reeves has exited the talks, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

A studio source confirms that negotiations have broken down. The possibility, however, exists that talks could resume when heads cool. The studio is intent on making the movie no matter what, as the Batman franchise has proven to be bigger than one person.

Reeves is currently deep in postproduction on War for the Planet of the Apes, which is shaping up to be the biggest entry in the Fox franchise.

Ben Affleck was set to helm the superhero feature, but ultimately decided not to pull double duty as both director and Dark Knight. Affleck co-wrote the script with DC Films co-head Geoff Johns.

Prior to Reeves’ receiving the offer, Ridley Scott and Don’t Breathe helmer Fede Alvarez were among the names being floated for the director’s chair.

The Batman is the latest DC/Warner Bros. project to undergo a director shuffle. The Flash stand-alone has gone through multiple directors, including Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa.

www.hollywoodreporter.com