'The Batman' Director Matt Reeves on How the Film is Inspired by Jekyll and Hyde

Bruce Wayne and Batman are two incredibly different personalities, though you can't have one [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh - December 14, 2018 06:59 am EST

Bruce Wayne and Batman are two incredibly different personalities, though you can't have one without the other, as The Batman director Matt Reeves knows well. The filmmaker detailed how his approach to the film mirrors the duality seen in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"Gosh, that's a tough question," Reeves shared with IndieWire at the Television Critics Association press tour of balancing these personalities. "I think that it's interesting, because one of the things that I've found interesting, just as we're working on the story, is looking back at Jekyll and Hyde, and the idea of your shadow-self, and the idea of, we are all multiple things. It's different aspects of who we are, and I think there are times when maybe the surface of Bruce is not really who he is, but that's his disguise. There are times when Batman's the disguise, but there are times when his true essence comes out, because by being veiled, a kind of instinctual side comes out that's very pure."

One of the more compelling components of the character is that both he, and fans, struggle to grasp which is his "true" self which he would default to if he fully embraced his id. The filmmaker is keeping details under wraps for what his film will explore, though he did hint that this dichotomy would be important in his story.

"It's not an easy question to answer, in that I think that we are all made up of so many different aspects of ourselves that make the whole," the director pointed out. "I don't know if you could ever reduce anyone to one part of what they express. That's what's fun about his character, is that there's a very bright light that shines on his shadow side. The idea of all of that is incredibly exciting. It's part of what makes it fun for me to work on."

Despite getting these thematic details, little else is known about what audiences can expect from the film. Ben Affleck was originally attached to direct and star in the film, ultimately handing directorial duties over to Reeves. While the actor hasn't explicitly stated he was backing out of the project completely, rumors about Reeves' film claim that it will focus on a younger version of Batman, likely requiring a younger performer taking over the cowl.