The Batman ($600 Million Worldwide Box office)

It sounds as if Ben Affleck might be bringing some gravitas behind the camera to go along with his gravelly on-screen voice in his portrayal of Batman. A new rumor has surfaced suggesting that Affleck will not only play the vigilante in Warner Bros.’ Batman v Superman and both Justice League films; he’ll also be directing himself in The Batman, a standalone film due out in 2018.

Latino-Review is reporting just that, with the additional news that Chris Terrio has been appointed as the film’s screenwriter. This lines up with what we here at Collider have been hearing for some time now–that Affleck’s deal to play the Batman in a minimum of three films likely included the opportunity to write and direct his own feature focusing on the Caped Crusader. With Affleck’s schedule as crazy as it is, it makes sense that screenwriting duties have fallen into the capable hands of Terrio, who previously collaborated with actor/director Affleck on the Academy Award-winning film Argo. It’s a safe bet that Affleck will also be working closely with Terrio on the script, despite how busy he’ll be with his other filmmaking duties.

Now that’s not to say that Terrio isn’t busy; quite the opposite. He’d previously come on board Batman v Superman to tackle screenwriting duties after David S. Goyer’s early drafts. Terrio is also lined up as the scribe for both Justice League films, so the addition of The Batman puts the Dark Knight’s story in DC’s Cinematic Universe squarely in his hands.

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Beyond Affleck playing Batman and Terrio tackling scripting duties in the already-announced films, none of this news has been confirmed. That being said, Warner Bros./DC is poised to blow the roof off of the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con. It seems as good a place as any to announce a new standalone Batman film, with Affleck directing and Terrio writing, and its intended release date, a probable November 2018 slot that’s intended to compete with Captain Marvel. WB/DC might even roll the entire Justice League cast out on stage a la The Avengers a few years back, with the possibility of two new Green Lanterns. Should be an interesting event.

Update: Complications in Affleck’s Batmania occur when we remember his other projects, something I overlooked in an earlier draft of this article. His next film, Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant, is now in post-production with an expected January 29, 2016 release date, so aside from doing press tours for that film, he should be free and clear. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is also in post-production, but David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is currently filming; Affleck is expected to pop up in that film as well, though to what extent remains unclear.

Now here’s the kicker: Live by Night, Affleck’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel that he’s writing, directing, and starring in, and a film which has been delayed a number of times already. That film, also part of the Warner Bros. slate, is due in theaters October 7, 2016. One imagines that Affleck would have been hard-pressed to kick this particular can a little further down the road once again, so my money is that Live by Night is his next film before going full bore into Justice League and a possible standalone The Batman film. That would make one Batman movie a year from 2017 to 2019, so it looks like Affleck will get his own creative passions out of the way before buckling down and becoming the Bat in earnest.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Ben returning to the role is expected

UltimateMarvel wrote:Yep. He shouldn't do that

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:Yep. He shouldn't do that

After The Town, I got no problem with him directing a film he's starring in. He did it in Argo and he'll also direct and star in his upcoming Live by Night. Everytime he directs, he gets award heat.

Think about it like this, Affleck and Terrio shape and write the script then with Affleck directing and starring there is absolutely no miscommunication in translation from script to screen. It would all be his vision and he'd have near total control and as we've seen time and again, Affleck takes directing unbelievably serious and always delivers so I think that him directing is going to give us the best version of The Batman.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s one for the Comic-Con crowd to gnaw on. I’m told that Ben Affleck is teaming up with Geoff Johns to co-write a stand-alone Batman movie that Affleck will direct and star in after he completes his longstanding plan to helm his scripted adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel Live By Night. Johns has about as much comic cred as anybody around. He’s DC Comics’ chief creative officer and has written some of its best remembered comic book series including Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batman, Justice League, The Flash and Superman. He also has written TV series superhero transfers Smallville, Arrow and The Flash, as well as the Supergirl project with Greg Berlanti for CBS.

My studio sources tell me that Affleck and Johns are well in synch and have more than found their rhythm. In fact, they are likely to turn in a script before the end of the summer, prior to Affleck going off to direct Live By Night in November. Affleck postponed that pic to star in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The Batman movie would shoot after he finishes Live By Night, and the plot would reflect the Batman character that emerges after Batman V Superman and Justice League, the latter of which comes out November 17, 2017. DC and Warner Bros have set a long list of superhero movies that take the Marvel formula of interspersing characters from one film to the next, so it’s unclear when Affleck’s Batfilm will be slotted.

But it clearly will take priority, and other movies might have to move to get out of its way. While Marvel’s Kevin Feige has defied the odds and turned one Marvel character after another into hit films, I have been somewhat skeptical about the DC films that Warner Bros has made a top priority. This is a confidence booster. The best Batman blockbusters had a real sense of visual authorship, originated by Tim Burton, with the latest arc by Christopher Nolan. Now it falls to Affleck, who’ll creatively steer the Batman franchise after directing the Best Picture winner Argo and co-scripting and directing the gems The Town and Gone Baby Gone. Helped by the collaboration with DC-savvy Johns, this might be the most exciting news to hit the Con this weekend.

Warner Bros has pushed back two movies involving Ben Affleck. The Accountant, the Gavin O’Connor-directed film that Affleck stars in, has been pushed from its January 29, 2016 berth to open October 7, 2016. At the same time, Warner Bros has moved from October 7, 2016 to an undated 2017 berth for Live by Night, Affleck’s adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel that he also plans to star in. That one begins shooting in November so there was no way the original date was going to work, given the post production schedule and Affleck needing to begin shooting Justice League Part 1 next spring.

This shines a light on the story Deadline broke during Comic-Con, that Affleck was quietly teaming with DC’s Geoff Johns to write a freestanding Batman movie that Affleck hopes to direct and star in. Warner Bros would not even confirm this at the time, but I believe the hope was to get the draft done before he goes off to helm the Miami-set crime tale Live By Night, a film that reunites him with Lehane. Affleck made his directorial debut on Lehane’s novel Gone Baby Gone. This positions Warner Bros to be able to rebirth its Batman franchise and get production underway after Live By Night. Warner Bros has a steady stream of DC Comics movies coming, but having a new Batfilm by the director of the Best Picture winner Argo has to be a welcome prospect though there’s no big rush. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice bows March 25, 2016, and Justice League comes out November 17, 2017. That’ll provide Affleck’s Batman movie with two storylines, with the film picking up from there.

UltimateMarvel wrote:They're really pushing Batman more than Superman now. How come he isn't getting any love considering he launched the franchise. Cavil should be the RDJ of DCU.

UltimateMarvel wrote:The hate is strong in this thread. lol!

Well, a lot is riding on Batman in BvS so I hope Affleck nails it because planning a trilogy this early is pushing it.

Tyger wrote:* for those of you who don't know (Abe),

UltimateMarvel wrote:lol! Well, I've never even heard of Legends of the Dark Knight.

Rusty Cunt wrote:I never even considered this team-up, but after reading that, I now understand why Will Smith said yes to Suicide Squad. Dude's either 12 steps ahead of everyone else, or one lucky motherfucker.

WyldeMan wrote:
I just worry that a role for his kid as Nightwing was probably in the contract.....

Rusty Cunt wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:
I just worry that a role for his kid as Nightwing was probably in the contract.....

Oh, God. Please, no.

Though critics almost universally loathed Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice, most fans, and in some cases critics, enjoyed Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman interpretation and because of it, the demand for more Batman with Affleck is building. Many are now asking, when can we expect a solo Batman film with Affleck directing and starring? According to THR, you might not have to wait much longer.  William Morris Endeavor co-CEO Patrick Whitesell revealed to THR that Affleck has written a script for Batman while also revealing how many films he’s contracted for in the DC Universe. Whitesell said that he’s contracted to do at least Justice League Part One and Part Two, and has written a “really cool” Batman idea.

ForeverBlu wrote:Why am I LMAO @ Henry Cavill inside my head right now?

WyldeMan wrote:

ForeverBlu wrote:Why am I LMAO @ Henry Cavill inside my head right now?

Cause you wanted him to fail all along.

Past rumours have pointed to The Batman (that's still not the official title, but really should be) being an adaptation of "Under the Red Hood", a story which saw Jason Todd return to Gotham City as a Punisher like vigilante intent on bringing down both the Dark Knight and The Joker. However, with the similarities that storyline has to Marvel's whole Bucky/The Winter Soldier situation and the fact that it's already been adapted in both an animated movie and video game, could the big screen be that tale's next destination? After all, Batman v Superman did seem to hint at that being the case! 

Well, Birth.Movies.Death reports that "Under the Red Hood" isn't the plan, but we are going to see plenty of the other members of Batman's rogues gallery in the movie which is being co-written and directed by Ben Affleck. In fact, "It's going to be crammed with Bat villains, which means that just about every major bad guy you've ever wanted to see in a movie will be in this movie. According to my sources Affleck and Geoff Johns, who has been working with him on the film, want to make the definitive Batman film. They want to tell the ultimate Batman story, and to do so they're going to bring in all the big guns. They're going to have a big, sprawling Bat universe already in place."

While many of those bad guys will no doubt make only very minor appearances, this is an interesting direction to take things in if true. Seeing Batman going up against several of his most well known villains (many of whom have yet to reach the big screen) would certainly be a lot of fun, but that whole Jason Todd storyline would make for a great movie.

joey con carne wrote:No origin film? Say whaaaaaaaaaat.

I need Flash. God damn it, when the hell are they going to talk about Flash????