It seems like we’ve been going through a carousel of yes and no’s when it comes to whether or not Matt Reeves will direct The Batman. Following word that talks broke down last weekend, now there is official confirmation that Reeves will helm the film after title star Ben Affleck felt he was not up to the task. More on the story below.

Deadline was the first to break the news about Reeves’ hiring. According to their story, the reason why talks first broke down was because the studio tried to pay him a salary lower than he could have gotten for doing another movie. The first time that happened, there were reports that talks could resume. So we held on that before we actually counted him out of the running. Now that Reeves has been confirmed, it looks like The Batman may be able to meet its Spring/Summer start date.

What’s not clear is if the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director will be working on the script written by Affleck and Geoff Johns, with rewrites from Chris Terrio or if he will rewrite the script entirely. Whatever option they choose, Warner Bros. believes he is the guy to direct The Batman, and hopefully Reeves sticks around long enough to see the entire picture from production all the way to its release.

“We are thrilled to have Matt Reeves taking the helm of Batman, the crown jewel of our DC slate. Matt’s deep roots in genre films and his evolution into an emotional world-building director make him the perfect filmmaker to guide the Dark Knight through this next journey,” said Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Matt Reeves noted, “I have loved the Batman story since I was a child. He is such an iconic and compelling character, and one that resonates with me deeply. I am incredibly honored and excited to be working with Warner Bros. to bring an epic and emotional new take on the Caped Crusader to the big screen.”

The news is a bit of a relief for DCEU fans who believed that their film franchise was going nowhere with all the behind-the-scene troubles that constantly plagued the studio. This is a huge step in the right direction for the studio, and if the rumors of Wonder Woman being good are true, then it looks like more quality directors may be heading towards the DCEU sandbox.

Erik Davis of Fandango confirms Affleck is still very much attached to play Batman, contrary to what has been reported in the past few weeks.

[Source: Deadline]