Well, well, well. Will Smith may want to stop his not-so-covert plotting to take over the Bat cowl because there’s some rather stunning news on the horizon. Despite all of the gloom and doom associated with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s relatively abysmal box-office drop and the fact that the film reaped a smaller profit than Man of Steel, the much maligned installment still brought in enough cash to bring another standalone movie to the table.
Of course, the lingering question was whether Ben Affleck would continue in his role. Director Zack Snyder didn’t seem optimistic, and Affleck himself seemed utterly despondent at the rampant criticism lobbed towards the latest film. However, Warner Bros. must have felt confident enough at this early date to make a bold announcement at Tuesday night’s CinemaCon, which brings the very first confirmation that Affleck will retain the Batman part:
At the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon in Las Vegas Tuesday evening, CEO Kevin Tsujihara first took the stage to give a general rundown of upcoming movies from the studio. After saying they have “at least 10” DC Comics movies coming in the next five years., Tsujihara finally gave studio confirmation to a long-rumored product.
“We’re working with Ben Affleck on a standalone Batman movie,” the CEO announced.
And that’s not all. Variety reports that Affleck is definitely directing this film too. We’ve already heard how Warner Bros. hoped to bring several more movies into the franchise with Affleck possibly writing, and of course, the powers that be wanted folks to know that Affleck was crafting a “really cool” script. But this makes things official. Batfleck will fly again.
No word yet on whether this development has any effect on Henry Cavill’s desire for another Superman film. Also, what does the news say about this sad-ass interview?
(Via ComicBook.com & Variety)
