Something In The Way
Esquire Singapore|March 2022
Director Matt Reeves’s Batman reboot is inspired by 1970s cinema, 1980s comic books and… Nirvana.
Johnny Davis
Something In The Way

With great power comes great responsibility. Yes, we know that’s a different superhero, but how is the director of The Batman feeling?

“Terrified,” Matt Reeves says.

The journey to the screen of the new Batman movie has been a long and gruelling one. Almost a decade ago, Ben Affleck was cast as the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It is Affleck’s most successful film at the box office. By every other metric it was a disaster: critics hated it, fans hated it more and it launched DC down a route of superhero ensemble movies (Suicide Squad; Justice League) that got worse and worse. For every new star in an ever-more-twinkling Marvel Cinematic Universe, rival DC couldn’t catch a break. The memory of Christopher Nolan’s benchmark The Dark Knight trilogy appeared to be going gently into that good night. The best bet for Bat fans looked like another outing for Lego Batman, which at least was funny. But DC wanted another Batman movie.

They put in a call to Matt Reeves, director of the acclaimed monster movie Cloverfield (2008), as well as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). “Ben [Affleck] had been working on a version of the script,” Reeves says, “and I said, ‘Here’s the thing: I respect that the DC Universe has become an extended universe and all the movies were kind of connected. But another Batman film, it shouldn’t have to carry the weight of connecting the characters from all those other movies. I didn’t want them in there.’”

This story is from the March 2022 edition of Esquire Singapore.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2022 edition of Esquire Singapore.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ESQUIRE SINGAPOREView All
THE MILD HANGOVER
Esquire Singapore

THE MILD HANGOVER

Hangovers get a bad rap. We know. If you’ve gotten this far in the magazine, you’ve surely divined that we’re mildly hungover most of the time.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2022
AN ELECTRIC FUTURE
Esquire Singapore

AN ELECTRIC FUTURE

Polestar, the minimalist electric Swedish car brand, turns the voltage up on its competition.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2022
LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON
Esquire Singapore

LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON

Royalty, shopping, the best tea and scones the world has to offer, and a lifestyle worthy of what you're working for. Here's why London is ripe for your next investment

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022
NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA
Esquire Singapore

NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA

As Co-founder of the events and talent agency Collective Minds and Managing Director of the Mandala Masters, Zaran Vachha is definitely not new to the culture scene, but he's certainly shaping what comes next.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2022
WHAT I'VE LEARNED...
Esquire Singapore

WHAT I'VE LEARNED...

I DON’T WEAR SOCKS except in January.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2022
The Body Is a Language
Esquire Singapore

The Body Is a Language

A bad handshake is such a turnoff; we feel irked when someone rolls their eyes at us; we can't stop pacing when we're nervous-ever wondered how certain body language has the power to change how we feel instantly? We explore why.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022
EYE OF THE TIGER
Esquire Singapore

EYE OF THE TIGER

Hailing from Singapore, Japan and Brazil respectively, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes Darren Goh, Hiroki Akimoto and Alex Silva are proof that the ring demands as much from mind as it does from matter.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
THE ADONIS COMPLEX
Esquire Singapore

THE ADONIS COMPLEX

With the rise of superhero culture making a return and bringing with it the celebration of the classically ‘masculine’ body type, can men really overcome the pressure to conform when culture keeps getting in the way?

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2022
FUNNY BUT TRUE
Esquire Singapore

FUNNY BUT TRUE

A comedian, an iconic Singaporean, and now a man much evolved. After overcoming two years of pandemic limbo, unlocking career milestones one after another and undergoing a life-defining physical transformation, Rishi Budhrani is ready to emerge into the world renewed-and anew.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
LIKE NO OTHER
Esquire Singapore

LIKE NO OTHER

With its horological triumphs, Hermès has truly come into its own as a watchmaking maison. In this exclusive interview with Esquire Singapore, CEO of Hermès Horloger, Laurent Dordet sheds some light on his timepieces' rising stardom and the importance of being different.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022