The Batman director Matt Reeves believes production on the film will begin at some point near the end of the year. At long last, the War of the Planet of the Apes filmmaker is moving forward on his standalone Batman movie, now that the saga about Ben Affleck's involvement with the DC franchise is resolved. The Batman has been scheduled for a June 2021 premiere, and as expected, will feature a new actor in the role of Bruce Wayne. Reeves is said to be targeting someone who is 15-20 years younger than Affleck - the ideal age range to carry a series for multiple years.

With a release date now set, Reeves and company have a concrete window to work towards, and it shouldn't be much longer until some more official details are revealed. Back in January, it was reported The Batman would start shooting in November of this year, and that information seems to have panned out - at least based on Reeves' latest comments.

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On his official Twitter account, Reeves fielded a fan question asking about The Batman's production status. According to the director, he thinks the cameras will be rolling shortly before 2019 comes to a close. Check out his post in the space below:

While this hasn't been confirmed by Warner Bros., the timetable still makes a good deal of sense. The studio didn't date The Batman until recently, after Reeves had cracked the story and turned in the latest draft of his script. It would appear that summer 2021 slot is one the creative team is comfortable about hitting, and now it's all systems go. The Batman would need to be filming by either late 2019 or early 2020 in order to meet its release date. If Reeves does indeed start shooting by November, he would then have plenty of time to take care of the various post-production responsibilities and get final picture locked well before it opens in theaters. Fortunately, The Batman doesn't look like it will be rushed.

Of course, if the film begins production roughly eight months from now, there will have to be some long-awaited casting announcements soon. Last month, it was rumored Armie Hammer was close to locking down a deal to be the new Batman, but that was swiftly debunked and there's been no word on the matter since. It'll also be fascinating to see which members of the Caped Crusader's famed rogues gallery make an appearance. Speculation in January pointed to there being multiple villains, so it's anyone's best guess what Reeves has in store.

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Source: Matt Reeves

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