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Ben Affleck Teases He’s Directing Solo ‘Batman’ Film, Talks Rebooting Franchise

By Gregory Wakeman
Published on: 15:55 PST, Jan 19, 2016

After the original furor over the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman finally died down, movie fans soon realized that the actor/director was probably now in the perfect position to direct any further solo Batman film.

While these adventures haven’t been confirmed yet, the fact that Warner Bros. have huge plans for the expansion of the DC Cinematic Universe means that another Batman film is almost certainly going to happen.

But while Ben Affleck has refused to confirm that he’s actually directing the expected new Batman, he has hinted that simply working on Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and watching Zack Snyder direct, has inspired him to do just that.

Affleck made these comments while talking to USA Today, where he declared, “I’ll just say going through the process, I would never have imagined that I could or would direct a movie like this.”

“And in working with (Zack Snyder) and seeing what he did and watching him every day,” Affleck continued. “I got really inspired by that and by seeing the scope on which he was telling the story, by seeing what he was able to do with this kind of mythic story on a grand scale.”

It’s quite clear from Affleck’s above comments that, while he hasn’t signed on the dotted line to direct the aforementioned feature, he has clearly been thinking rather long and hard about it. And that’s understandable. Because not only would Ben Affleck’s work be cut out trying to oversee such a huge blockbuster production, his previous directing duties (Argo, The Town and Gone Baby Gone) were much lower budget, but he’d also have to be front and center as the lead actor on the film too.

However, with his previous directorial efforts, Ben Affleck has proven to be a sturdy and compelling filmmaker, who molds riveting dramas into evocative character studies too. Unlike the likes of Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Shazam, a Batman film wouldn’t be that reliant on special effects too, which Christopher Nolan proved with his Dark Knight trilogy.

It’s also hoped that Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film will see him go up against Jared Leto’s Joker too. Leto’s incarnation of the beloved comic book villain will debut in Suicide Squad, which will also include a Batman cameo.

At the moment, all of this talk is rather meaningless though. Because even though Warner Bros. are adamant that a new Batman film will eventually arrive before 2020, as well as a new Superman film, they’ve yet to confirm an actual release date.

Until then, fans can get excited about the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which is due out in just over two months time on March 26. This will then be followed by Suicide Squad, due out on August 6, while solo films for Wonder Woman, Shazam, Green Lantern, Cyborg, The Flash, and Aquaman will then come thick and fast too, as well as the Justice League Part One and Justice League Part Two.

Speaking recently, director Zack Snyder addressed the abuse he received following the release of the latest Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice trailer. This clip confirmed that the villain Doomsday would be included in the film, something that many fans wanted to be saved until the film’s actual release.

Snyder explained to Daily Beast why the decision was made to feature it, remarking, “To us it really made sense to give [Doomsday] to the audience now. I really wanted to make the audience a promise that… though I’m super excited and happy and fulfilled by the conflict of Batman and Superman, there’s also a bigger world to start to think about.

[Image via Warner Bros.]

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