Last night, Latino Review mentioned something potentially in the works that we hadn’t really considered, at least seriously: that Ben Affleck was going to direct the first solo Batman movie.
Allegedly, this film, called THE BATMAN, will be released in between the two JUSTICE LEAGUE movies in November 2018 (plopping it against CAPTAIN MARVEL, slated for the 2nd). Chris Terrio, Affleck’s ARGO screenwriter who he brought aboard the DCCU, will be writing the script with Affleck (of course) as the Dark Knight.
Obviously, when Affleck signed on as Batman, his clout as a director was such that many cried, “Why couldn’t he just direct?!” While Affleck hasn’t done any big spectacle stuff yet, let alone had to implement himself among the many moving parts of a massive franchise tentpole, it’s hard to imagine WB doesn’t want the Oscar winner helming one of these flicks at some point.
But has any actor ever directed himself as the lead a movie this big? DICK TRACY is the only one I can think of, and nearly every review of the film I've ever read has mentioned Beatty's distracted, muted performance. It’s one thing to direct a movie with yourself in every scene when it’s, say, CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, but there are a limitless number of technical concerns that go into making a Batman flick that make keeping your head in the reality of a scene improbable, at best. Can you imagine delivering stoic dialogue in a Batman suit while pyrotechnics and shot movements you’ve planned for months and months are executed around you? Could Affleck have screamed “HARRY, I LOVE YOU!” with as much passion and verve if he was equally worried about how hard that camera was shaking?
But hell, I love GONE BABY GONE, and his successive two features have only been more successful critically and financially, so I can’t deny that it’d be cool to see Affleck-as-director playing in a comic book movie sandbox. I just think that there’s a chance, like with everything DC/WB are discussing these days, that the practicalities of this idea may ultimately make it impossible. Of course, there's always the possibility they'll use Ben for name value and bring in a ghost director, but it's not like WB ever does that with their in-house helmers...
Would you want to see THE BATMAN directed by and starring Ben Affleck?
