Ah, The Batman. We've been talking about the would-be DCEU solo movie for what feels like ages now. Remember when Ben Affleck was going to direct and star in it? Remember when Matt Reeves was, then wasn't, then was the director again? Yeah, we've been on a journey with the development of this movie, as have the folks over at Warner Bros, who've undergone some significant behind-the-scenes changes since Batfleck first popped up in Batman v. Superman, back in 2016.

But The Batman keeps trucking on, and the latest update from Reeves makes it clear that he's not only very much still on board the project but looking to turn his attentions to it imminently. While attention FOX Network TCA presentation to promote The Passage, the director spoke with the folks at SlashFilm about the status of The Batman.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

“We are working on getting our draft [in] the next couple weeks,” Reeves said. “Right now, my head is totally into the script. Right now, I’m going to be leaving here to go back to work on the script.” And if it goes to plan, they could be in front of cameras by this time next year (though yes, we've heart that before.) “What we’ve talked about is hopefully in the spring or early summer, something like that,” Reeves said.

Reeves wouldn't clarify on the casting rumors, which point to a younger actor taking over the title role in Affleck's stead, telling the outlet, “There are ways in which all of this connects to DC, to the DC universe as well,” Reeves said. “We’re one piece of many pieces so I don’t want to comment on that except to say that I’m focused very specifically on this aspect of the DC world.”

He also clarified that his vision for the film has remained the same since his earliest meetings at the studio, despite the behind-the-scenes shifts over recent years. "A lot of things have happened since then," Reeves said,  "but the movie, and why I’m excited about it, is it continues to be the same inspirations and excitement of what we talked about in the beginning.”

Finally, Reeves addressed the rumor that The Batman was based on Frank Miller's celebrated Batman: Year One, which was famously a significant influence for Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. In fact, Reeves says it's not an "origin tale" at all. “We’re not doing any particular [comic],” Reeves said. “Year One is one of the many comic books that I love. We are definitely not doing Year One. It’s just exciting to be focused very specifically on a tale that is defining for him and very personal to him. Obviously we’re not doing an origin tale or anything like that. We’re doing a story that is definitively Batman though and trying to tell a story that’s emotional and yet is really about him being the world’s greatest detective and all the things that for me, since I was a kid, made me love Batman.”

Finally, Reeves reiterated previous comments that he wants to make a "noir-driven" Batman story, which brings something "new and cool" to the table. Do you guys think the War for the Planet of the Apes director will pull it off? Do you hope to see Affleck in the film (whether as the lead or possibly a flash forward)? What other comics to do you want to see in the mix of the story? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.

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image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.