The Batman: What is really holding up production?

A rumor has been shot down that a new Batman actor could be announced soon, but what is the hold up?

With a rumor immediately shot down last week that Warner Bros. are close to announcing their new Batman for the DCEU by Justin Kroll of Variety, there has been speculation emanating behind the studio lot that production has been delayed due to further development of the script, according to Collider.

Unless you have been stuck in quick sand for several months, most of you should know by now that actor/director/producer, Ben Affleck, is not going to don the cowl of The Bat for any future DC Films projects. Remember, just over a few months back when Matt Reeves had been at work committing to rewrites on the script of The Batman and the release date had been announced? This was around the same time The Flash movie from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein was reported. That project was delayed from 2020 to 2021, as was Reeves’ Batman film.

Just around the early part of this year, Reeves handed in a second draft of the script, and there’s also the recently announced casting reveal of Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. But why is it that no other casting announcements have been made? Well now, two years after Reeves was declared writer and director of the standalone Batman film, a release date was confirmed for June 25, 2021. This grants Reeves more time in order to get more revisions done and get casting underway

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While not a done deal, as stated by Variety, “pre-production is expected to start this summer,” meaning the script is most likely close to being in tip-top shape. This also explains why most of the casting has not been revealed, aside from speculation and rumblings of casting around Hollywood. Also, notice the article stated Reeves “continues to polish,” referring to the final iteration of the script. This is an industry term that refers to a screenplay being smoothed over in some areas. This can include scene descriptions, format, dialogue and minor character interactions, but not macro changes to it.

From what one can gather on the situation, it appears we are treading on speculative territory at the moment. They (i.e. Warner Bros.) are hedging their bets on their potential “dream cast” as we speak, hence the reason why the leading man is at the negotiating table, even though he is their top choice. Either Warner, Reeves, his producing partner Dylan Clark or another figure is sitting down with stars or rising actors with their agents/managers to discuss contracts, which may then get second-approval from Affleck or Geoff Johns (who is still consulting with Walter Hamada behind the scenes) before the real casting begins. Or they are weighing their options.

Batman is one-third of the troika that includes Superman and Wonder Woman. DC-on-film cannot afford to mess this one up. While it is debatable whether Reeves can possibly come up with a gem that could really reinvigorate the character and add something to the mythos, going the detective and psychological route is a step in the right direction. Although, his execution in terms of style and tone of the script such as, Se7en and Zodiac can be deemed open to doubt over his vision.