Another day, another tale of trouble for the DCEU. Probably one of the super hero shared universe’s most anticipated projects, The Batman, has had it’s fair share of problems lately. Batfleck himself, Ben Affleck vacated the director’s chair, with Matt Reeves taking over, and Aflleck and comic book legend Geoff Johns’ script being rewritten by Justice League’s Chris Terrio. Then Reeves was out. Then he was back in again. Unfortunately, it’s the type of crazy creative tango we’ve come to expect for Warner Bros. and their burgeoning shared universe. But the biggest blow to the movie may have filially been dealt, with /Film reporting that the film is undergoing a complete page one rewrite (not the first DCEU movie to go back to the start, with the same happening to The Flash a few months back). What this means for The Batman is that the rumoured 2018 release date has to be put way back, with production expected not to begin till next year.
This ‘fresh start’ also puts Joe Manganiello’s role in the movie up in the air. He was previously cast as the film's main villain, Deathstroke, but with a complete rewrite, even he doesn’t know if he’ll appear now. The original script was already the focus of a rumour that the studio knew it wasn’t working, but would still make money either way. It was a pretty cynical rumour, but sadly one I think a lot of us believed. This page one rewrite does at least fill me with an ounce of confidence that maybe the direction of the DCEU has changed for the better, but time, of course, will tell.
This ‘fresh start’ also puts Joe Manganiello’s role in the movie up in the air. He was previously cast as the film's main villain, Deathstroke, but with a complete rewrite, even he doesn’t know if he’ll appear now. The original script was already the focus of a rumour that the studio knew it wasn’t working, but would still make money either way. It was a pretty cynical rumour, but sadly one I think a lot of us believed. This page one rewrite does at least fill me with an ounce of confidence that maybe the direction of the DCEU has changed for the better, but time, of course, will tell.
