Netflix is really starting to raise its own bar as it brings on Matt Reeves for a multi-year film deal. Reeves, who moved on from War For The Planet Of The Apes, is set to direct the next upcoming Batman movie and has attracted the attention of Netflix by granting them the ability to have first look at any films that pass through his production company, 6th & Idaho. This seems like a huge advantage for Netflix as they’re still attempting to stay on top of the streaming game and will likely spend anything it takes to do so. Latching onto a director/producer like Reeves will grant them a humongous advantage that a lot of services might be jealous of in the years to come, though it could also work against them as well.
I say that largely because while Reeves is a hot commodity at this point and doesn’t have a lot to top when it comes to the DCEU and its spectacular failures as of late, he’s still human. There’s always a margin for error, especially with superhero films, as we’ve seen in the recent past and with those movies that are still in theaters. To think that he’ll be perfect right out of the gate is kind of setting oneself up for disappointment, but given his current track record it would be easy enough to assume that he knows what he’s doing and will learn how to adapt to anything that Netflix might want.
It’s easy to play the devil’s advocate and state that things might not go out the way that they were planned since there is little to lose and nothing risked in being a critic or even an individual with an opinion. Personally it would be nice to see a director take hold of Batman and make the franchise great again, as lately the dark knight has been anything but his old self. It’s understandable that many directors have many different views and ideas about a franchise character but one thing that is insanely irritating is that few of them ever seem to go back to the source material and go from that point on. The story doesn’t have to go strictly from the source, but paying respects to it, insinuating that this is where the character started and finding a way to link the source material in a way that doesn’t seem eager to leave it behind altogether would be nice.
Hopefully Reeves’ attempt to bring the caped crusader back onto the big screen will be a welcome back to the Batman we’ve all known and loved throughout the years and a goodbye to the dark, foreboding character that Snyder wanted everyone to realize is the new face and unfortunately the most recent memory we have of him. Netflix will have, and in fact has, scored a big bonus in Matt Reeves and should enjoy the success that will come.
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