[Editorial] Is Matt Reeves Right For DC's The Batman?

Amidst all the controversy that is surrounding DC's most profitable property, Batman, there could be a silver lining after all.

After Ben Affleck stepped down as director, after Warner Bros. Pictures tore apart his script for The Batman, I have lost all faith in the future of DC's cinematic universe.

But what we should not lose track of is, perhaps now some kind of a rebuilding can begin; and starting from scratch may be just what is desperately needed.

It began with The Flash losing a few directors and then restarting a script. Then The Batman followed suit last week. That whole slate when DC and WB announced for their DC cinematic universe just a few short years ago, all gone out the window. Looking back at it now, they look like complete idiots.

Ben Affleck has always been seen as DC's golden child and secret weapon. I am not buying one bit when he said he cannot focus on directing and acting duties because Argo won him Best Picture. Gone Baby Gone and The Town were critical hits as well. Affleck's Batman movie was a promise that never came to be because WB keeps screwing things up.

But last night, Variety has reported that writer-director Matt Reeves will be stepping in to direct The Batman. Reeves is no stranger to big tentpole movies after stepping in, at the last minute too, for Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. He brought that movie to new heights, and will be doing promotional tours soon for the next Ape sequel, War For The Planet Of The Apes.

Reeves first broke into the Hollywood scene when he directed J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield, a sleeper hit that reinvigorated the handheld camera genre in 2008, before Josh Trank did it again in 2012 with Chronicle.

Reeves also did the Hollywood remake of the indie darling Let The Right One In, right after Cloverfield and before Dawn. His focus on big action sequences is matched by the focus he gives to his character developments. He seems to be able to do it all.

And that is why Reeves is a great choice for The Batman and probably the silverest lining in this whole mess that DC has architect themselves.

Not that it truly matters to a property that has the word "Batman" in its title. The casual movie-goer would not blink twice about it. But if you look deeper, the real question to ask WB is how do you eff up a deal with Ben Affleck, someone so talented behind the camera, someone who was the best thing in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and someone who has complete and unadulterated love for Batman.

But losing Affleck and then gaining Reeves would be the next best thing for WB going forward. Let's hope that WB has enough trust in Reeves to let him be in control. Although I am not holding my breath and, for all we know, tomorrow's headline may be "Reeves Out Of The Batman".