My last article on this topic talked about Ben Affleck wanting the studio to slow down to give him time to perfect ‘The Batman’ before the film goes into production (it was originally slated to begin production in the spring of 2017, so it could be released in 2018), but the flip side of the coin is whether all of the pre-production issues could potentially lead to the film going away altogether. I personally do not see it happening as Warner Bros kind of needs Affleck and the character to “save” the DCEU, unless ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Justice League’ perform far better than I am anticipating. But, at the same time, I could see Affleck walking away entirely if the studio tries to force his hand. As revealed during his interview with The Guardian:
“It’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it.”
Affleck really does not owe anything to Warner Bros (aside from whatever his contract states), and as long as he keeps appearing as ‘Batman’ in the other DCEU films I do not think he is under any obligation to direct and/or write a standalone movie, and that is really what they desire at this point in time. It would be a shame to see the whole thing fall apart though, especially since we already had Joe Manganiello on board as Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) to be the main villain, and there is so much story that could come out of that.
Of course, we also do not know when exactly that interview with The Guardian took place, and whether Affleck was just venting some frustrations at that moment or whether it was something that is still festering even unto the present. All we can hope is that Warner Bros is smart enough to give Affleck the time he needs to make this the best film it can be, as we all want to see the DCEU be the film franchise that can finally rival the MCU in terms of quality, especially with an epic ‘The Batman’ movie made by someone as talented by Ben Affleck.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Is Affleck being unreasonable in the time he is requesting to get it right? Is Warner Bros rushing him along just to meet some arbitrary deadlines they set years ago? Share your opinions in the comments below!
Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.
