With The Batman opening in movie theaters on March 4, I recently had the chance to speak with director Matt Reeves about making his hugely anticipated DC movie. Since I’d already been part of a press conference with Reeves and Robert Pattinson that covered so many subjects including why they didn’t want to do another origin story, their thoughts on Death in the Family, the trouble with emoting in Batman’s cowl, why Riddler as the first villain, how Pattinson found Batman’s voice, and their thoughts on Mr. Freeze, I used my time to pose questions he hadn’t been asked.
One of the things Reeves has said many times is that he wanted to make a Batman movie that kept everything as grounded and realistic as possible and offered a take on the character fans haven’t seen before. When you see the movie next week, you’ll see he accomplished his goal, and fans will get a film unlike any previous Batman movie.
But something I wondered while watching Reeves take on the Caped Crusader was if other DC superheroes — like Superman — existed in this version of Batman. In this grounded and realistic take, is there room for a Kryptonian?
So when I spoke to Reeves the other day, I asked if Superman and other DC superheroes existed in his version of Batman, or if this was a separate world without superhuman characters. He told me:
“It's a high wire act to do a Batman movie, right? Because the character's been around for 80 years, everyone has their own version in their head and there have been great movies. The last thing I wanted to do was come in there and feel like I had to do something with the highest degree of difficulty and then also find the ways that it connects to everything else. My thing was, from the beginning, I said, "Look, I think it's enough to try and just do a bat verse, to do a Batman movie," and that that's where this begins.
I suppose it's not impossible to believe that somewhere down the line, they could connect to something else, but that was not my interest in this, and it's not my interest in what we would do in follow-ups at the moment either. I feel like the whole point in us working with this incredible cast and this incredible crew to realize this movie that sort of, I really believe, is a fresh and different version of these characters is to pursue every ... There are a lot of great characters in the Gotham world and so the idea of leaning into that, that's really my interest right now.”
I followed up by saying I don’t need to see Superman in a sequel, I just wanted to know if he existed in this Batman world. Reeves replied:
"You mean if it could? Is that what you're saying? I mean, if something like that did happen, because I was very careful about ... To me, what I try to do is take ... I did this in the Apes films too, and even Cloverfield, this idea of taking the one fantastical element and then have everything around it, so it'll be as grounded as possible, so that it could feel ... I want it to feel emotionally real and to make everything feel very believable. In this movie, even further I think than what I did in those films, I tried to find the practical, believable version. If suddenly in the Batman world, you discovered that there was an alien that was Superman, there'd be a lot of shock. I mean, people would have to say, oh my God, and maybe that would be the one fantastical element.
But to be honest with you, that is not the intention at this point, to figure out how to make that come. Look, we should be so lucky that this is a world that people embrace and that they say, oh my God, we want to see what would happen when those things collide. I think if that challenge ever presents itself, it would be an exciting one to explore, but I'd have to try and do it through this lens. You know what I mean? And that is absolutely right, that at the moment, to me, this world is the place that I want to focus.”
Based on what he said, it’s clear Reeves has no intention of introducing Superman or any fantastical character to his version of Gotham City anytime soon. But if he were to ever consider it, he’d try and find a way to make it as believable as he could. And as a longtime fan of Superman and the DC universe, that sounds great to me.
What I love about the DC movie universe is how it’s the opposite of Marvel. Everything at Marvel is interconnected. Every show and movie all exist in the same PG-13 universe, and you are rewarded for watching everything. But that doesn’t mean every other studio needs to do the same thing. I love that we’re going to see Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and Robert Pattinson as different versions of Batman in the same year. I love that Todd Phillips’ Joker was a completely different take on the character and exists in its own universe. And I also love when some of the DC movies connect into something greater and cannot wait to see Shazam and Black Adam fight.
But the only way for the comic book movie genre to survive and thrive is to constantly push back against expectations and offer new takes on the characters fans love. I don’t need to see Superman or Wonder Woman or any other character with a superpower in a Batman sequel that Reeves is helming. I’d actually rather see Warner Bros. finally commit to making another Superman movie (with Henry Cavill) than try and work the character into a universe where he doesn’t make sense.
Look for more from my conversation with Matt Reeves soon and make sure to see The Batman opening weekend because I want a sequel.