If you'd asked me to guess what news would break at this year's Comic-Con, “Ben Affleck set to direct stand-alone Batman film” would have been in the top three, right behind “Bryan Singer announces X-Men/Fantastic Four crossover movie for 2018.”
Looks like at least one of those is coming true.
Deadline was first to report that Affleck is working with Geoff Johns to co-write a Batman film that will pick up where “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” ends. This is not a huge surprise. From the moment he signed to play the character, there has been conversation at the studio about Affleck directing a solo film. What's new here is that the script is coming together quickly, and it looks like Affleck will head directly into this film when he finishes directing his next Dennis Lehane adaptation, “Live By Night.”
What I like about this idea is that it will be, by definition, the opposite of an origin film. We're going to meet an older Batman in Zack Snyder's film, someone who's been around for a while and who is already in decline to some degree. I'm excited to see what kind of story Affleck and Johns want to tell about that Batman, because that's not the character we're used to seeing in these movies. And, no, I don't think they'll end up doing something like “The Dark Knight Rises,” either. I think we're going to see some new ground covered for the character and for these movies, and that's welcome news indeed.
Chances are we won't see this for a while, and there are those “Justice League” movies to consider as well. One thing seems sure, though. We're getting a lot of Batfleck in the near future, and I'm very eager to see what that means.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” is in theaters March 25, 2016.