We kind of already assumed as much, but we now have official confirmation that Ben Affleck will be directing his own solo Batman movie as part of the new DCCU.
We assumed Chris Terrio, who Affleck brought over from ARGO to scribe BVS and JUSTICE LEAGUE, would assume writing duties, but the script for Batfleck’s solo debut will be a collab between Affleck and DC CCO Geoff Johns. Johns, aside from his extensive work in comics, has written for SMALLVILLE, JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, ARROW, and THE FLASH; this would be his first credit on a feature script.
As for Affleck, he won an Oscar for co-writing GOOD WILL HUNTING (anyone remember Colin Quinn’s Weekend Update bit about Affleck “hunched over the computer like Ben Kingsley in SCHINDLER’S LIST” while blonde, blue-eyed Damon “sits on the balcony like Ray Fiennes in his bathrobe shooting at people”?), and also co-wrote the stellar GONE BABY GONE with Aaron Stockard, so methinks he’s got the chops. The latter’s a dark film, so I’m not gonna let my memories of GIGLI and SURVIVING CHRISTMAS convince me that he’s scared to tackle the depths of Bruce Wayne’s dark side.
No word on whether it will be called THE BATMAN (or merely BATMAN), or an exact time frame, but we do know that he’ll jump onboard after he finally directs his adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s LIVE BY NIGHT. It’s likely that he’ll be able to get it onscreen by 2018, like the initial assumption, smack dab in between the two JUSTICE LEAGUE installments.
I have slowly warmed up to the idea of Affleck in the Batsuit since it was announced, but it doesn’t take any convincing to get me to believe he can craft a great, interesting take on the character from behind the scenes. There’s a lot of JLA coming our way in the next few years, but it would feel incomplete without a great BATMAN film at the center, and I think Affleck’s got a solid shot at making that happen.
And don’t forget, he’s not the only Batman on the block; the character has another cinematic incarnation with his own solo movie on its way:
