We've had Batman origin stories coming out of our ears over the past couple of decades, so DC fans can breathe a sigh of relief at the latest news about upcoming caped crusader film The Batman.

Director Matt Reeves has revealed during a Television Critics Association panel that his movie won't be an origin story, but will instead be more of a "defining" tale about the hero.

"Year One (the story of Batman's first year as a hero) is one of the many comic books that I love," Reeves said, according to Slash Film.

Bennett Raglin/WireImage

"We are definitely not doing Year One. It's just exciting to be focused very specifically on a tale that is defining for him and very personal to him. Obviously we're not doing an origin tale or anything like that.

"We're doing a story that is definitively Batman though and trying to tell a story that's emotional and yet is really about him being the world's greatest detective".

And as such, Reeves is planning on making a "noir-driven definitive Batman story" which sees the hero "investigating a particular case" which "takes us out into the world of Gotham".

Many may have wondered whether The Batman will connect to the wider DC Universe and Reeves has now confirmed that it's definitely part of the bigger picture.

"There are ways in which all of this connects to DC, to the DC universe as well," he said. "We're one piece of many pieces so I don't want to comment on that except to say that I'm focused very specifically on this aspect of the DC world."

If you now can't wait to see this noir Batman, Reeves has great news about the timescale of his movie.

Warner Bros.

"We are working on getting our draft (in) the next couple weeks," he revealed. "What we've talked about is hopefully (filming) in the spring or early summer, something like that."

The Batman is just one in a very long list of DC films which are currently in the works, with more Harley Quinn, Cyborg and Wonder Woman also being planned.

And if that wasn't enough, we're apparently also set to be treated to an animated feature about heroic animals called Super Pets, which will feature the likes of Krypto the Super-Dog and Beppo the Super-Monkey.

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