Warner Bros. Bets on Matt Reeves, The Batman 2 Confirmed
Matt Reeves has found himself on the good side of Hollywood’s most ruthless businessman. Deadline exclusively reports that Reeves has signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Discovery and is the first filmmaker to have done so since the new company was formed during Discovery’s acquisition of Warner Bros. This means that Warner Bros. Discovery will have first-look rights to anything Reeves writes, directs, or produces. It also means The Batman 2 is a go, with Reeves and screenwriter Mattson Tomlin working on the script. Reeves also re-upped his deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, and his TV series revolving around the Penguin is moving forward on HBO Max, with Colin Farrell reprising the role from The Batman. On that front, Giant Freaking Robot has heard from a source that the Joker and Scarecrow will appear on the Penguin show.
No surprises here; I didn’t like The Batman, but it’s very popular and was successful at the box office, so the sequel was a forgone conclusion even with the trigger-happy Zaslav in charge. The Penguin show seemed like it would be a little more tenuous (and the demand for this thing mystifies me more than The Batman 2), but Warner Bros. Discovery is going all-in on Matt Reeves, so he’s likely got a fairly wide berth, especially where Batman is concerned. And it’s a smart move; despite my feelings on The Batman (and Cloverfield), Reeves is an excellent filmmaker, and the last two Planet of the Apes movies show what he’s capable of when he’s got the right script. (Apparently, he also co-wrote Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, so he’s good to go with me.) I’m much more interested in what he’s going to come up with outside of Batman, and I’m glad Warner Bros. Discovery will at least hear him out when he’s got something else he wants to make.
Are you looking forward to The Batman 2? What other movies would you like to see Matt Reeves tackle? Is Colin Farrell hoping Martin Scorsese watches the Penguin show while casting his next gangster movie? Let us know in the comments, and stick around Geeks + Gamers for the next turn Zaslav’s Hollywood adventure takes!
