There are a few uncertainties facing the future of theDC Extended Universeat Warner Bros. One thing we can be certain of though is that Ben Affleck and his take on Bruce Wayne/Batman is here to stay. Now, all eyes are on the next soloBatmanmovie, which was once riding entirely on the shoulders of Ben Affleck, but know has a new director and creative direction in place
When it was initially announced that Ben Affleck would be taking on the role of Bruce Wayne inBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicemore than three years ago, to say that fans were less than open to the idea would be a dramatic understatement. While the movie wasn’t what many fans and critics wanted it to be, it is still the highest grossing movie of Ben Affleck’s career according toBox Office Mojo, but more importantly, people loved him as Batman.
Given the positive response to Batfleck, Warner Bros. is doubling down and resting a lot of the fate of the DCEU on his back. His version of the character will next be seen in Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon’sJustice League, but what really has fans excited is the soloBatmanmovie that Ben Affleck is going to be starring in at some point in the near future. It has been four years since we last saw aBatmansolo adventure in the form ofThe Dark Knight Risesand there is an eagerness to see what Ben Affleck can do with the character in a movie not being directed by Zack Snyder.
While Warner Bros. struck gold withWonder Woman, they still harbor high hopes forThe Flashand anotherMan of Steelmovie in addition to the very profitableSuicide Squad. There is no doubt that the most bankable hero they have to work with isBatman. To date, movies featuringBatmanhave brought in $4.59 billion at the box office and the character has had a presence in every single era of comic book movies. At the moment, the definitive take on Batman came in the form ofChristopher Nolan’s trilogy, which had its crowning moment withThe Dark Knightin 2008. With a little help,Ben Affleckand new director Matt Reeves will hopefully carve out a unique place in the cinematic history of Batman.
Even though the movie was only recently officially announced by Warner Bros., we actually know more than you may think about what Ben Affleck and Matt Reeves is planning. Can Affleck’s first solo adventure as The Dark Knight be exactly what the DCEU needs moving forward? It very well could be. Here is what we know about Ben Affleck and Matt Reeves' upcomingThe Batman.
11The Title is The Batman
Sometimes simple is better. Why overcomplicate something if there is no need (likeBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicefor example) when there is a simple answer or solution. That seems to be what Ben Affleck was thinking when he announced that the title for hissolo Batman moviewill simply beThe Batman. While some may think that is lame, it actually makes quite a bit of sense as we often hear criminals, like inChristopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy, refer to the character asThe Batman. It fits. Ben Affleck had this to say about it in a recent interview with the Associated Press.
“The movie I think is going to be called The Batman. At least that’s what we’re going with right now. I might change it. That’s about all I got right now. We’re working on the script, the script is going well, I’m really excited about it. I assure you that when anything develops, you’ll hear about it.”
We saw an old, seasoned veteran version of Batman inBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, so there is no reason to think we won’t be seeing the same thing inThe Batman. That is why the title makes sense. The idea of what Batman is will have already been formed within the universe. Granted, Ben Affleck did leave some room in there to change it down the line, but for right now, this is the title we should be expecting.
10Matt Reeves is Directing
When this stand-alone movie was initially announced, Ben Affleck was supposed to star in, co-write and directThe Batman. That idea had fans very excited, but eventually it clearly became too much and Affleck, in part possibly because of some personal issues, decided to take a step back and leave the director’s chair. There was initially some cause for concern, but those concerns were all but extinguished when it was announced that Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes,Cloverfield) is the one taking over directing duties on the first soloBatmanmovie in the DCEU. Despite the drama that surrounded the movie prior, the idea of a Matt Reeves directedBatmanmovie is truly an exciting prospect and it could work for the better. Affleck will be able to focus on his performance and won’t be stretching himself too thin. Matt Reeves can do what he does best and direct this thing.
9Deathstroke is the Main Villain…Maybe?
Say what you will about the movies in the DCEU so far, but Warner Bros. and the creative teams working on these movies have quite the knack for a cool reveal. Such was the case with Ben Affleck revealingDeathstroketo the world. He posted a video to his Twitter of the character in full costume on set walking around very imposingly. At the time it was unclear exactly what that meant, but we now know that Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke is intended be the main villain inThe Batman.
After it came to light that Batman was going to be squaring off with the legendary mercenary known as Deathstroke in the movie, it was revealed thatTrue Bloodstar Joe Manganiello had been tapped to play the character. It was once highly suspected that Deathstroke would first appear inJustice Leaguebefore going toe-to-toe with Batfleck inThe Batman, but that has yet to be confirmed. Joe Manganiello once posted a massive stack ofDeathstrokecomic books to his Twitter account to show that he was doing his research and taking the role quite seriously. We have never seen a live-action version of Deathstroke before on the big screen, so this is something that could be potentially very cool and exciting for DC Comics fans. Deathstroke did appear in several episodes of the hit CW series Arrow, played by Manu Bennett. He’s also been seen on the small screen in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as Smallville.
Even though all of this still holds true, once Matt Reeves took over as director, it became a little less clear what direction the movie is going in. Joe Manganiello originally believed he’d be shootingThe Batmanin the early half of 2017. That didn’t come to pass, as Reeves' finished hisWar for the Planet of the Apesduties. While Joe Manganiello is still attached as Deathstroke, the actor himself has cast doubt if this will still happen. And in the months since, Josh Gad has heavily teased that he may show up as The Penguin. Though, there is nothing that says Deathstroke and Penguin can’t team up together.
8Geoff Johns & Ben Affleck co-wrote the story, with multiple rewrites happening since.
Comic book writer turned movie executive Geoff Johns was recently put in charge of the DC Extended Universe for Warner Bros. and he has taken a very hands-on approach to the job so far. That being the case, he appears to be very involved in the development ofThe Batmanalongside Ben Affleck. The pair had been working on the script for the movie together for quite some time, which is another thing that should inspire confidence in fans. Ben Affleck won his first Oscar for screenwriting and has had a hand in writing all of his other movies (with the exception ofArgo). As for Geoff Johns? He has a deep understanding of the character from his days writing for DC Comics and he has written tons of beloved storylines, including the recentRebirthline. So, with the pair working together, it feels like the script at least is in very good hands and that Geoff Johns seems to understand how important this project is for the DCEU. But their take on the material won’t be the completed draft going in front of cameras.
It is pretty standard practice for big movies to have several drafts and various writers do work on them, butThe Batmanhas been through the ringer. As mentioned, Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns co-wrote the initial draft. Warner Bros. and everyone involved at the time weren’t totally satisfied, soArgowriter Chris Terrio, who has worked with Affleck several times in the past, was brought in to do a pass on it. The studio was reportedly very happy with that take at the time, but we are going to get some more changes. With Matt Reeves coming on board, he is going to get his say and things are going to change. What those changes will be have yet to be revealed, but expect the Chris Terrio version ofThe Batmanto shift a bit. This could mean that Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke will play a smaller role than initially anticipated, but that has yet to be confirmed.
7The Batman Will be Influenced by Alfred Hitchcock
For as much as people love Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy, there are still some things that could be improved upon. Namely, we didn’t see Batman get to do a whole lot of detective work. Given that he is the “world’s greatest detective,” it would be nice to see more of that on screen. Luckily, Matt Reeves wants to do just that. He has said that he wants to do “noir driven, detective version of Batman that is point-of-view driven.” He also name-dropped Alfred Hitchcock as a major influence, which is a pretty interesting thing to infuse aBatmanmovie with. So expect this to be a pretty different take on Batman.
6J.K. Simmons is Commissioner Gordon
For the most part, despite quite a few other perceived problems with the DCEU thus far, the creatives behind the projects have largely nailed it when it comes to casting. Granted, there are some exceptions, like perhaps Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and depending on your perspective, Jared Leto as The Joker. Given that they have largely got things right with respect to casting, J.K. Simmons being cast asCommissioner Gordonseems pretty perfect. We haven’t seen our new Jim Gordon in action yet, but we have seen a picture of him inJustice League, which looked pretty great. Not only that, but J.K. Simmons as an actor is pretty hard to argue with. He won an Oscar for his work inWhiplash, not to mention his portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’sSpider-Mantrilogy being about as perfect as it gets. you may’t do a Batman movie without Jim Gordon, and having J.K. Simmons play him inThe Batmanshould help elevate the movie.
5Jeremy Irons is Alfred
Fans and critics had a great many problems withBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but for the most part, Jeremy Irons as Alfred was not one of them. Much in the way that it would be seemingly impossible to do a Batman movie without Commissioner Gordon, it would seem baffling to doThe Batmanwithout Alfred. So, we can safely assume that Jeremy Irons will be returning to the movie, though it hasn’t been officially confirmed just yet. After Christopher Nolan cast Michael Caine in hisBatmantrilogy, it was pretty difficult to imagine anyone else taking on the role. However,Jeremy Ironsvery much made it his own and wound up being one of the highlights ofBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Having him assisting Ben Affleck as Batman in the movie and getting to see them interact some more is something we should definitely look forward to. Hopefully, without having to deal with Superman and the Martha situation, Alfred inThe Batmancan be even better than what we have already seen.
4It is at least partially set inside Arkham Asylum
Thanks in part to the popular video game series, Arkham Asylum has become one of the most iconic locations in all of Batman lore. However, it’s been a while since we saw the famed home for Gotham City criminals and crazies in a live-actionBatmanmovie. It did show up on screen in Batman Begins, where it played a key role. The institute was also seen in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. While we don’t know for sure if it will be the main location inThe Batman, there have been very persistent rumors and reports that Arkham Asylum will indeed be a fixture of the movie. No doubt, this is a very exciting possibility and something that could wind up being unreasonably cool for Batman fans. As for how Arkham Asylum will actually factor intoThe Batman? We don’t totally know yet, but just the fact that it will be in the movie at all is pretty great.
3Expect More Than One Iconic Batman Villain
We know that Deathstroke is going to be the main villain (probably) inThe Batman, but that doesn’t mean he will be the only villain featured in the movie. Multiple reports have teased that Geoff Johns and Ben Affleck intend to include multiple villains from Batman’s rogues gallery, which would actually make sense given thatArkham Asylumwill be featured in the movie . While we don’t know how many, or exactly which bad guys will be included or how much screen time they will have, we can bet Deathstroke won’t be the only famous Gotham bad guy (or girl) inThe Batman. The most obvious inclusion would beJared Letoas The Joker, given that he only had a few minutes of screentime inSuicide Squadand that he is easily the most iconic Batman villain of all-time. In any case be ready for a whole lot of villainy in this movie.
2When Will a Trailer forThe Batmanarrive?
SinceThe Batmanhasn’t even started shooting yet, any footage is going to be a ways off. At best, the movie will begin shooting at the end of this year, but probably in early 2018. However, that does put us in position to possibly see the first teaser trailer forThe Batmanto arrive during San Diego Comic-Con 2018. Since Warner Bros. will only be releasingAquaman, as far as the DCEU is concerned, in 2018, they will want to do everything they can to make an impression. Showing someBatmanfootage would be a good way to do that, but just don’t expect to see a lick of footage until next year.
