Ben Affleck officially confirmed to be directing the next Batman movie

Say what you like about Batman V Superman, but Ben Affleck’s portrayal of the latest incarnation of the dark knight was a standout performance. A brooding billionaire bodybuilder whose only weakness may be hearing someone say the name of his mom, Ben Affleck was a force of nature in that film. Intense and the star of two of the biggest fights in that movie, Ben Affleck was a convinced caped kicker of asses without needing to sound like he woke up each morning and gargled ball bearings to achieve a bat-voice.

But here’s the thing: Ben Affleck may be a great actor, but he’s an even better director. Films such as Argo and The Town are proof of this, plus he has the writing credentials to back it all up. Imagine Affleck being given proper creative control then, of his own Batman movie. Well wonder no more, because it is happening.

Over at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Warner Bros. officially confirmed the casting of Affleck as director and star of the next Batman movie. “We’re excited to be working with Ben Affleck on a standalone Batman film,” Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara said at the event, that Collider attended. Affleck’s Batman movie will tie into WB’s current cinematic plans, to release ten movies over the next five years.

Word of Affleck being more involved with a Batman movie has been making the rounds since last year, with news coming in recently that he had turned in a script for the standalone flick. It’ll still be a while before we see Affleck suit up for a solo movie. While he has just finished wrapping up production on the Prohibition-Era gangster flick Live by Night, post production on that and the upcoming Justice League film will also see him rather busy.

Warner Bros. has unspecified DC movies penciled in for for release on October 2018 and November 2019, so an easy guess would be that Affleck would start shooting by the first half of 2017 if he wants to make those deadlines. Which might be a tad bit uncomfortable, like the back of a Volkswagen. Still, a Ben Affleck Batman movie? I’m all the way down with that.

Last Updated: April 13, 2016