Everyone who has been following the production of Matt Reeves‘ The Batman knows that at one point it was a vehicle for Ben Affleck‘s incarnation of the caped crusader. Affleck was set to co-write, direct, and star in The Batman, which would have taken place in the DC Extended Universe, before stepping away for personal and professional reasons.
In the years since Affleck’s departure, details regarding his version of The Batman have slowly come online. Joe Manganiello, who was slated to reprise his Justice League cameo role as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke, said the film “would have seen Deathstroke dismantling Bruce Wayne’s life piece by piece after learning his secret identity.”
However, now we know a bit more about the tone of the film Affleck was planning on making. In an interview with Esquire, Reeves revealed some new details about the script draft that Affleck had penned with Geoff Johns. He stated:
“It was very action driven. It was very deeply connected to the DCEU, with other major characters from other movies and other comics popping up. I just knew that when I read it this particular script was not the way I’d want to do it.”
Reeves continued:
“I told [Warner Bros.] that there have been so many great [Batman] movies, but if I were to do this, I’d have to make it personal, so that I understood what I was going to do with it, so that I know where to put the camera, so that I know what to tell the actors, so that I know what the story should be. This take, I told them, pointing at [Affleck’s] script, is a totally valid and exciting take. It is almost James Bond-ian, but it wasn’t something that I quite related to.”
Okay, let’s break these revelations down. First, Affleck’s film would have brought back “major characters” from previous DCEU movies. Does that mean Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn were in the script alongside Manganiello’s Deathstroke? Maybe Superman and Wonder Woman made quick appearances. Perhaps Amanda Waller stopped by. I guess we’ll never know unless someone leaks the script online.
Next, an action-driven Batman film that feels like a James Bond movie sounds right up my alley. I was against Affleck being cast as Batman all those years ago, but he ended up impressing me in the role (and may even be my favorite actor to step into the cape and cowl).
I would love to see Affleck’s script get made with him in the role, but I respect his decision to move on. On the bright side, I still get to look forward to him reprising the role one last time in The Flash later this year.
What are your thoughts on these new details regarding Ben Affleck’s cancelled solo Batman movie? Would you love to see Affleck reprise the role in a future DCEU project or has the time passed?
