Warner Bros.
Ben Affleck as Batman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
It seems Ben Affleck has less creative control over his standalone Batman movie than we thought.The actor originally came into playing the latest version of The Dark Knight with an impressive start in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and reports were that he would be writing and directing a standalone movie on the character.
Then in January, Affleck announced that he would no longer be directing the movie, now titled "The Batman." However, the project was still going forward with him in the lead, and with the script he wrote with DC Films' head Geoff Johns and Chris Terrio.
But now it sounds like Affleck will just be the star of the movie.
The new "The Batman" director, Matt Reeves, while promoting his latest movie "War for the Planet of the Apes," told MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast that he's starting from scratch.
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Matt Reeves.
"No, it's a new story," Reeves said. "It's just starting again. I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be really cool."Sources told the trades back in January when Affleck bowed out as director that Warner Bros. had issues with Affleck's script. Reeves has said in previous interviews that he's planning on giving "The Batman" a noir feel.
Affleck's script had Deathstroke as the villain of the story. Joe Manganiello has been cast for the role. It's unclear if the character will still be in the movie.
Affleck will next be seen playing Batman in "Justice League" coming out November 17.