Why Ben Affleck Hasn’t Agreed To The Solo Batman Film, Yet
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is now only a few weeks away from hitting cinemas. Once it’s released, it will be followed by Suicide Squad in August, which will itself be followed by at least nine other instalments to the DC Cinematic Universe.
However, while DC has already confirmed these films, they have yet to announce a solo Batman film that will have Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne. This is something of a surprise when you consider the monumental box office success of not just Batman Begins but The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, which, combined, grossed over $2.4 billion.
It’s been widely speculated that if, as expected, Warner Bros. announce a new Batman film, it will not only star Ben Affleck, but it will also be directed by him too. But why has it not been confirmed yet?
Black vs. blue. #WhoWillWin pic.twitter.com/Zgexnk3vs5
— Batman v Superman (@BatmanvSuperman) March 5, 2016
Well, Ben Affleck himself has admitted that he’s one of the reasons why the solo Batman blockbuster is yet to be confirmed by Warner Bros., as he is currently too hard at work on his latest film as a director, Live By Night.
Ben Affleck explained to Entertainment Weekly, “It’s in development, and right now I’m really focused on finishing Live By Night. That’s where my focus is, and I tend to be a one movie at a time guy. So, when I’m finished with this movie, I’ll then focus on my next movie and figure out what that will be. ”
Live By Night sees Ben Affleck adapting another novel by author Dennis Lehane, who previously wrote Gone Baby Gone, which the Academy Award winning screenwriter for Good Will Hunting made his directorial debut with.
But while Ben Affleck’s work on a solo Batman film is yet to be confirmed, Geoff Johns, who is the chief creative officer at DC Entertainment, did tease what a potential new Batman film might revolve around.
Those of you who have seen the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailers will have already noticed that Bruce Wayne has a Robin uniform encased, which is covered in Joker graffiti. This suggests that Joker might have murdered the Boy Wonder in the past, which is a distinct possibility considering that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s version of the Caped Crusader is much older than the ones we’ve been accustomed to seeing on the big screen.
Johns admitted that the Robin suit tease will be explored in a new Batman solo film, as he declared, “We’ll be exploring that,” before he then stopped short of revealing which version of Robin might appear.
“No one says specifically the name of which Robin that is,” Johns continued.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as the title suggests, pits the two comic book icons against each other. Batman blames Superman for the hoard of deaths in Metropolis that occurred in Man of Steel, and he looks to stop the alien from having complete control over the human race, even though he’s not sure that’s what Krypton’s most famous son desires.
On set with our #BatmanVSuperman director @ZackSnyder. pic.twitter.com/XHXiwbZ5ng
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) March 2, 2016
As well as starring Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will also star Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Jesse Eisenberg, Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Diane Lane, and Jeremy Irons.
Following the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on March 25, Suicide Squad soon follows on August 5, while Wonder Woman is released on June 23, 2017, Justice League – Part One on November 17, 2017, The Flash on March 16, 2018, Aquaman on July 27, 2018, Shazam! on April 5, 2019, Justice League – Part Two on June 14, 2019, Cyborg on April 3, 2020, and then Green Lantern Corps on June 19, 2020.
[Image via Warner Bros.]
