Despite the recent slew of cancellations from Warner Bros. on both the film and television fronts, the future of Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe seems to be secured.
According to a report from Deadline, Reeves and his 6th & Idaho production company have set a first-look film agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures Group, marking the first director to reach such a deal with the studio since Co-Chairs/CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were hired by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav for the film division.
Under the deal, Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s production divisions — Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Animation Group and DC-based Films — will have first-look rights to Reeves’ work as a writer, director and/or producer — and not just his work for The Batman universe. De Luca had the following to say in regards to the deal:
“We’re making an investment for whatever Matt feels a pull toward, in ‘The Batman’ universe and otherwise. He has an open invitation to go wherever his interests take him. We’ll lean into whatever Matt wants to do. In terms of the writer/directors out there working in this very elevated genre space, with everything Matt’s done, from ‘Let Me In’ to the Apes trilogy to ‘The Batman,’ he’s in a class by himself.”
In addition to the agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Reeves and his production label also re-upped the agreement with Warner Bros. Television Group and Chairman Channing Dungey. While The Penguin series that was previously announced in March, starring Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oswald Cobblepot, is reportedly entering production soon, the series based on Arkham Asylum is still in discussion.
The director is also said to currently be writing the sequel to The Batman, which was announced at CinemaCon in April, alongside co-writer Mattson Tomlin. The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Paul Dano as the primary antagonist, The Riddler. The Batman feels much more like a psychological thriller than a typical superhero movie, free of the grasp of CGI that seems to have a hold on most movies in the genre and instead rooted in dark reality. The film explores Bruce Wayne’s earliest and inexperienced years as Batman, diving into the character’s origins as the world’s greatest detective and drawing heavily from film noir.
Our review for The Batman can be found here, as well as interviews with actors Charlie and Max Carver and production designer James Chinlund.
Stay tuned with Nerds & Beyond for updates.
