The Batman movie is going through one hell of a transitional period right now. Following the announcement in January that Ben Affleck would no longer direct the Caped Crusader's solo adventure, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' Matt Reeves was brought in as his replacement last month. Still, the movie is far from ready to go into production right now. Earlier today, we reported on how work on the Batman movie likely won't start until 2018 due to Reeves' commitment of War For The Planet Of The Apes, which is understandable. However, now there's word that the script may also be entirely rewritten.
Slashfilm is reporting that they've heard from "sources close to the production" that the Batman movie's is being rewritten "from the ground up," which could potentially mean all that's been revealed so far may be tossed out. This isn't the first time we've heard such a claim, as it was reported last month that Justice League writer Chris Terrio would oversee a rewrite of the Batman movie intended to be a "fresh start," although a day later, it was said that Ben Affleck and Warner Bros bigwig Toby Emmerich already saw the finalized script and were "very happy" with it.
With Matt Reeves taking over as the Batman movie's director, it was only logical that this project was going to go through some changes compared to Ben Affleck's original vision when he was the one leading the charge. Still, the possibility of the entire script being rewritten is a particularly big deal, but shouldn't necessarily be looked at through negative lenses. Often times reports of something being re-written or re-shot can lead to the assumption that said production is in trouble. While that may be the case sometimes, if this particular creative shift gives audiences a better Batman movie in the end, then they should make whatever changes they deem necessary.
So far very little has been revealed about what to expect from the new Batman movie. Aside from Ben Affleck still returning to don the cape and cowl, as well as Jeremy Irons and J.K. Simmons reprising Alfred Pennyworth and Commissioner James Gordon, respectively, the biggest detail to come out is that Joe Manganiello will play Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke. Whether or not he'll get to keep his position as the main antagonist after these supposed rewrites is unclear. It was also rumored that in Ben Affleck's original Batman story, Jared Leto's Joker and several other notable Batman rogues were supposed to appear, but again, whether they'll still show up or not in the finalized tale remains to be seen.
We'll keep you apprised on how the Batman movie is coming along as more updates arrive, but right now, it's looking like the soonest we'll be able to see it is sometime in 2019.
