Warner Bros. locks down 'Batman' director to key deal
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Warner Bros. (NASDAQ:WBD) has a multi-year deal with Matt Reeves, director of its film studio's biggest hit of 2022: The Batman.
The deal is a first-look film deal - the first for a filmmaker since Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy took over the studio under Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav - and it also renews Reeves with the Warner Bros. Television Group.
Reeves and his 6th & Idaho production company had a first-look film deal with Netflix (NFLX), but projects related to The Batman are taking up more of his time, including a TV spin-off series The Penguin.
He's also working on a sequel to The Batman, which grossed $369.3M domestically from its spring opening, making it 2022's fourth-biggest hit behind Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Jurassic World Dominion.
Warner's production divisions - Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Animation Group and DC-based Films - will get first look at Reeves' work as a writer, director and/or producer.
The move represents the chance for Warner Bros. to spin some good news after the recent headlines surrounding its decision to cancel a planned release of expensive HBO film Batgirl.