Ben Affleck’s Batman was lauded as one of the highlights of an otherwise bloated and bleak Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Affleck is contracted to do two more films as Batman, in Zach Snyder’s Justice Leagues part one and two, the first of which is out in November, 2017. (He also has a cameo in Suicide Squad.) I truly hope that director Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio self correct after delivering such a confusing, unsatisfying mess of a film. The good news is that, as we heard last year was in the works, Affleck has co-written his own standalone Batman script, with DC’s Geoff Johns. (Who was not responsible for the screenplay for BvS.) If the film is optioned he may direct and star in it. Here’s the news from The Hollywood Reporter:
For the fans who found Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight to be the highlight of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, some good news: not only will he return for the Justice League movies, but there’s the possibility of an additional Batman movie based on Affleck’s own take on the character.
In a Hollywood Reporter cover story with William Morris Endeavor’s co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, Whitesell reveals how many movies Affleck has currently signed up for when it comes to DC’s Caped Crusader.
“He’s contracted to do at least Justice League One and Two, so at least three times wearing the cape,” he says, adding, “there’s a script that he’s written that is a really cool [Batman] idea, so that’s out there as an option.”
This isn’t the first time the Affleck-originated Batman movie has been raised. During San Diego Comic-Con last year, THR reported that the actor/director was developing a stand-alone Batman project with DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns, with Affleck tentatively attached to direct, as well as star in.
We know Affleck is a better director than Snyder, although it doesn’t take much, and I hope that the massive amounts of money involved will convince DC to let Affleck helm his own film. The guy may have his demons but he’s a truly talented director and screenwriter. If Snyder can make a sh*tty film which still makes bank for Warner Bros (BvS just passed $500 million worldwide), Affleck can make a solid one which stands on word of mouth. So many people praise DC for their dark, serious approach to the superhero genre. We know Affleck can do dark, we’ve seen The Town and Argo, and yet weave a good story. I’m sure there are all sorts of contractual obligations which WB can’t violate but they should still just fire Snyder and let Affleck direct the next two Justice League movies. They also need to hire new screenwriters desperately.
photos credit: WB screenshots, Getty, The Tonight Show
The best thing WB can do is let Ben Affleck take over. You can say what you want about him personally but the guy is a phenomenal director. The Town was a fantastic movie along with Argo. And while BvS is making money, it’s not because people loved it. It’s a very divisive film and going forward WB needs their DC films to be loved. Ben Affleck can make a Batman film that everyone will love.
gone baby gone was a great film so it’d be interesting to see if he can weave the same magic directing a batman film
I think Ben is a great director and I would definitely be all over Batman if he took over. I never cared what the public opinion on this site was about him, I always liked Ben and Matt and I still adore them. They paved their own way in this business. And I still have a crush on Ben.
I just watched Gone Baby Gone last night. Great film.
I hate to agree with you, but I do. All of his movies are extremely easy to watch, fast paced, and entertaining. He’s able to weave complicated stories, but in a way that is still accessible and easy to follow. Things don’t get muddy. It’s always entertaining. The Town is a fantastic fantastic film. Loved it front to back. Argo and Gone Baby Gone are also A+ films.
The opening to the Town was amazing. My heart was in my throat. He talked about setting up that bank heist opening, and it was fascinating. Ben knows how to pace a movie, how to have strong dialogue in a movie that doesn’t seem false or extraneous, a detail he is fastidious about going over and over the dailies, and seems to have a great grasp of where to have the movie arc.
He said he learned a ton by being on Bvs as far as directing a movie of this genre and magnitude by watching Snyder, who is a great visual director. I think he benefited by also seeing the weaknesses of the movie storyline wise and in editing and where he wants to take Batman.
@Jayna That bank heist scene was awesome. I was scared when Rebecca Hall’s character hits the alarm and then looks up and he’s watching her and says “time to go.” So creepy and effective.
Actually, he probably could get a good performance out of Henry too, if given the opportunity.
Affleck was a comic book guy with Kevin Smith, remember. An Affleck written and directed Batman would be good, but I think he could have done a Superman film justice too. Whatever his issues, he can tell a great story.
He got a very good performance out of Blake Lively in The Town so anything is possible at this point.
@Sam, he got even more outta Blake Lively during the filming, if you believe the gossip.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Are we do sure Affleck wants to take over? I just don’t see it. For a solo Batman movie he might, but the whole DC universe? Nah.
Once again we are hearing some fans saying ‘bring Christopher Nolan’ back!’ when there is zero indication he wants to or cares to. That’s nothing against Nolan (good for him honestly) but they need someone better than Snyder to be 100% about this. Neither Nolan or Affleck will ever be that.
Well after being so sad & embarrassed that the critics trashed his film, he might be considering taking over. After all, he did reinvent himself as a director/actor now meaning no more Gigli/Jersey Girl. They can say they don’t care about the critics but I’m sure Ben cares more about them than the others.
Will Affleck make a better film than Snyder? Yes, a rabbit with a fake camera can make a better film than Snyder so yeah I believe in Affleck as a director. He can use his own script too, I think he can make a better film than BvS, it won’t be that hard.
what’s interesting is that Christopher Nolan has an executive producer credit on Batman v Superman, though I’m not sure that means he was actually involved in developing the script…
Apparently Nolan wasn’t involved. The exec producer credit can range from huge involvement to “hey thanks for the Dark Knight!”. This was the latter.
However Snyder apparently talked to him before starting and Nolan argued against the ending (no spoilers). Nolan apparently also argued against the Zod killing in Man of Steel. (!!) Guys if Christopher Nolan thinks you’re going too far? You’re going too far!!
I agree. He should be in charge. I hope we get 4, 5, 6, etc films with him as Batman — he was truly great. I was very impressed. Can’t wait for Suicide Squad.
Ooohh… Now I understand why people were so very pissed about Snyder’s Batman vs Superman. I thought they would just go with a different director moving forward- no big deal. I didn’t realize he was already contracted for the two Justice League movies and we were stuck with him. That was the subtext to all the vitriol that I was missing. Damn that sucks.
Agreed Ben could turn this mess around. We know he can direct and write a script so just let him do it
Reminds me of Mickey Rourke in the last photo.
CAN’T UNSEE! Whyyyy? I blame the recently Botox, I mean “fresh” face he’s sporting.
In the top photo in the Batman gear he looks like Ed Burns. I kept saying that while watching the movie. He kept giving me a cross between Richard Gere and Ed Burns.
Is he really a “brilliant” director? I watched about 20 minutes of Argo and had to turn it off. It was nothing but panned shots of people running.
Have you watched The Town? It’s a very good action film. He actually directed Blake Lively to a very good performance and that’s saying something.
LOL, not to diminish his directing skills (at least not before he does it himself) but we all saw how he looked at her!!!!
I am just saying, the argument that he consistently directed good movies is better than ‘he got something very good out of Blake’.
When someone looks at you so adoringly, maybe you are motivated more, but I don’t think he would look at Henry that way! Although he should!
Oh c’mon @als Henry does have beautiful eyes, the kind you could get lost in hahahahaha
I thought she was great in the Age of Adelaine.
Me too, @Jayna!!!
The Town and Gone Baby Gone are fantastic. I liked Argo as well, but it’s my least favorite of the three.
@Rhiley Affleck is a competent director. He’s far from brilliant.
Yeah, I wouldn’t call him a brilliant director either. That’s reserved for directors like Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee, etc., but he’s far more than competent in my opinion. I think he’s an excellent director/script writer just from his body of work so far in his young directing career
IDK, for now the only comic based movie that keeps me interested is Wonder Woman. I’m kinda feed up with stories and movies that keep on popping up, again and again, about the same characters and same heroes, just changing the actors who plays them in a short period of time. All the mess of heroes and stories that are just understood by hardcore nerds is so confusing…why a movie with both Batman and Superman, even before introducing Affleck’s Batman to the audience? Things like Deadpool, Wonder Woman …those are the new things, fresh stories that we need. Also: I’m so hyped about the Amazons and WW’s origin story…why not a adult oriented franchise about Themiscyra and the Amazons? I’d love that, it goes hand in hand with the discussion about more power to women in the industry too….sick of movies aimed to 16 year old kids…
I thought WB Bros was worried about Ben Affleck, just the way you know he self-destructs. Making a stand-alone with his script, maybe directing & acting on it that might be a ton of pressure. He’s not in the same place as he was with Argo & The Town & I’m sure the studio knows it.
That being said he could actually do it, I believe it will be better than BvS. He’s a good director, that script is probably better than BvS ( “do you bleed? You will”) & he really does make himself look good when he’s directing. Plus the fanboys want Snyder’s head on a stick now & I can see them embracing Ben Affleck if he does it.
Ben Affleck is Warner Brothers’ golden boy. Worried about him? They are doing everything to make Ben happy.
Yep. They gave him Batman, probably after his Oscar win. This was always how it was going to go down.
I’ve never seen his charisma. Maybe he can direct, but on film he can only get away with playing douchebags like in Gone Girl.
I don’t get it. They have someone who has directed a Best Picture right in front of them, and they still go with Snyder.
After Monday’and Tuesday’s box office , BvS hit $500 million worldwide. Ben must be in a great mood and ready to do a Batman movie.
So I ended up watching BvS and thought it was pretty awful. The film was 2 1/2 hours long, but if you played all the slomo action scenes at normal speed and cut off all those silly dream sequences and flashbacks that served no purpose, it’d last a little over 80 minutes.
Ben wasn’t bad as Batman, but, well… he was still Ben Affleck. And Ben Affleck is not Batman.
The ultimate problem with BvS is that Snyder directs movies like a 14 year old boy. Everything is so overblown and flashy. Ben’s actually a good director so it’d be for the best if he took over.
Oh, and the budget was a complete waste. The movie looked cheap as hell.
Holy Cow. From Wednesday’s box office, another 30 million globally. Now up to 530 million and they are just now hitting the sweet part Thursday through Sunday. So much for the movie really going down after Sunday after bad reviews.
As far as the weekend coming up, usually, movies like this, big movies, made for this amount with massive first weekends go down about 60 percent by the next weekend. It will be interesting to see where it ends up for the second weekend box office-wise.
oops
If the reports of the total budget being WAY out of control $530 million would just put it into the green. It really needs to make $1 billion to be a money making success. Not sure if it will make it. It make top out at $750.