Director Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) has yet to begin work on the new Batman movie, starring Ben Affleck, but he has offered plenty of teases. Speaking with Yahoo, Reeves discussed the metaphors of the superhero genre and how to use those elements to create something else.

“What studios are willing to make at the moment is a very, very narrow band of films. What I discovered is that this genre has the potential to be about something more. You can use the metaphors of the genre to talk about (a lot)…I think that the metaphors of both of the franchises (Batman and Apes) enable you to tell stories that have deep emotional resonance. That’s actually what excites me about it. It’s interesting because I was obsessed with both as a child, and yet there is something potentially very adult about what you can explore under the cover of that fantasy. That is what draws me to it, and that’s what I’m excited about,” shared Reeves.

Reeves previously spoke of the influence Alfred Hitchcock has on how he makes his films, but he also spoke of modern filmmakers, one that even has experience with Batman – Christopher Nolan.

“What I admire in what (Nolan) does is that, despite being a filmmaker in an enormous system, his perspective comes through. That to me was very exciting, it’s always exciting when you see a film of his because of that. That’s what I feel like I’ve been trying to do, it’s trying to allow a perspective to come through despite the fact that we’re in this very large studio movie world,” added Reeves.

In the film, Affleck is expected to face off against Joe Manganiello as Slade Wilson, a/k/a Deathstroke. Jeremy Irons as Alfred and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon are expected to make appearances as well. The Batman, written by Affleck and Geoff Johns, has yet to receive a release date. Affleck will appear as Batman in Justice League, opening in theaters on November 17, 2017.