Matt Reeves facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matt Reeves
Reeves in 2014
Born	(1966-04-27) April 27, 1966 (age 59) Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Director producer screenwriter
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Melinda Wang ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	1

Matt Reeves, born on April 27, 1966, is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing, producing, and writing movies and TV shows. He became well-known for the TV show Felicity (1998–2002), which he helped create with J. J. Abrams.

Reeves became even more famous for directing the monster movie Cloverfield (2008). He also directed the vampire film Let Me In (2010) and the popular science-fiction movies Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). In 2022, he directed the superhero film The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as Batman.

Early Life and First Films

Matt Reeves was born on April 27, 1966, in Rockville Centre, New York. When he was five, his family moved to Los Angeles. He started making films at just eight years old, using a simple camera and directing his friends.

When he was 13, Matt Reeves met and became friends with J. J. Abrams, who also grew up to be a famous filmmaker. A local TV channel in Los Angeles even showed their short films. When Reeves and Abrams were teenagers, the famous director Steven Spielberg hired them to help transfer some of his old home movies to video.

Reeves went to the University of Southern California to study screenwriting. While there, he made a student film called Mr. Petrified Forest (1992). This film won an award and helped him get an agent. He also helped write a script that later became the movie Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. After college, he co-wrote the script for Cloverfield, which he later directed.

Matt Reeves' Directing Career

Matt Reeves started his career directing a horror movie called Future Shock in 1994. He also directed the romantic comedy The Pallbearer (1996), which starred Gwyneth Paltrow and David Schwimmer. This movie was shown at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.

Creating the TV Show Felicity

Reeves became widely known for co-creating and running the TV show Felicity with J. J. Abrams. The show aired for 84 episodes from 1998 to 2002. Reeves directed several episodes, including the very first one. He also directed episodes for other TV shows like Homicide: Life on the Street.

Directing Cloverfield and Let Me In

Reeves gained even more success when he directed the science fiction monster film Cloverfield (2008), which J. J. Abrams produced. This movie was a big hit around the world. Reeves later worked as an executive producer for other movies in the Cloverfield series, like 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).

In 2008, Reeves was hired to write and direct the vampire film Let Me In. This movie was based on a Swedish novel and film. It was released in the United States on October 1, 2010.

Working on the Planet of the Apes Series

In 2011, Reeves signed on to direct a film based on a short story that had previously inspired the 1988 movie They Live. He also considered directing a film based on the classic TV series The Twilight Zone, but he later left that project.

20th Century Fox then brought Reeves in to direct the science-fiction film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). This movie was a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was very successful with both audiences and critics. Because of this success, Reeves signed a deal to make more movies with 20th Century Fox. He then returned to write and direct the third film in the series, War for the Planet of the Apes, which came out on July 14, 2017.

Recent TV and Film Projects

In 2018, Reeves moved his production deal to Netflix. He became an executive producer for the TV series The Passage and Tales from the Loop, which premiered in April 2020.

In 2020, Reeves signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television to create new TV shows. He was an executive producer for the Netflix science-fiction drama series Away (2020), starring Hilary Swank. In 2022, he signed another deal with Warner Bros. Pictures for both films and TV.

In April 2022, it was announced that Reeves would produce the heist film Lift, starring Kevin Hart. This movie was released on Netflix on January 12, 2024.

Directing The Batman

In February 2017, Matt Reeves was chosen to direct and produce a Batman film called The Batman. He took over from Ben Affleck, who was originally going to direct and star. Reeves decided to make the film separate from the existing DC Extended Universe and focus on a younger version of Batman. This allowed him to tell a more personal story.

Reeves co-wrote the script with Peter Craig. Filming began in January 2020. The Batman premiered in London on February 23, 2022, and was released in theaters on March 4. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman. This film is expected to be the first part of a new Batman movie series. The next movie, The Batman Part II, was announced in April 2022, with Reeves returning to write and direct. It is set to be released in October 2027.

Batman Animated Series and Spin-offs

In May 2021, Reeves was confirmed as an executive producer for a Batman animated series called Batman: Caped Crusader. He worked on this with J. J. Abrams and Bruce Timm. Although it was initially planned for HBO Max, it was picked up by Amazon Prime Video in March 2023 and premiered on August 1, 2024.

Reeves also executive produced The Penguin, a limited series that is a spin-off from The Batman. Colin Farrell returned to play his role as Oswald "Oz" Cobb / The Penguin from the movie.

Future Projects for Matt Reeves

Matt Reeves has several exciting projects coming up. In August 2020, it was announced he was developing a TV series based on the novel The New Wilderness.

He is also producing several new films. In September 2020, reports said Reeves would produce a live-action movie for Netflix called The Hunt for Atlantis. In March 2021, he was announced as a producer for an English remake of the Russian science fiction film Sputnik.

In February 2022, Reeves was announced as a producer for the vampire film Smile for Netflix. In January 2023, it was shared that Reeves would direct and executive produce a limited series about the famous silent film star Buster Keaton. This project is expected to be based on a biography about Keaton.

Reeves is also working with James Gunn and Peter Safran to produce several Batman-related projects through his company, 6th & Idaho Productions. In October 2024, Reeves was involved as a co-producer on Dynamic Duo, an animated film about Dick Grayson and Jason Todd as Robin. In December 2024, Reeves and Lynn Harris were set to co-produce Clayface, a standalone film about the character of the same name, which will be part of the DC Universe (DCU) franchise.

Personal Life

Matt Reeves is married to Melinda Wang, who used to be an animator. They got married in 1999 and have one son together.

Filmography

Short film

Feature film

Producer

• Mother/Android (2021)
• Lift (2024)
• The Wrecking Crew (To Be Announced)

Executive producer

• 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
• The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Television

See also

In Spanish: Matt Reeves para niños