Home Entertainment Rumour: Matt Reeves making a young Batman solo film, Ben Affleck done playing the Dark Knight

Rumour: Matt Reeves making a young Batman solo film, Ben Affleck done playing the Dark Knight

4 min read
16

Here we go again, folks! After a surprisingly lengthy lull in the “is he or isn’t he?” drama surrounding Ben Affleck’s tenure as Batman in the DCEU, we have ourselves a brand new rumour (to add to the mountain of previous rumours). What makes this particular grapevine rumbling so interesting is that it comes from two rather reputable sources and they both suggest heavily that we’re done seeing the Oscar-winning Affleck donning the cape and cowl.

First up, we have a report from Deadline that actually hit a few days ago, but which flew under my radar a bit thanks to both the E3 hubbub and the fact that it’s essentially nothing more than an addendum in a different story. The actual story, in this case, being Geoff Johns stepping down as DC Entertainment Chief Creative to focus on writing/producing his own movies under an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. When talking about how his replacement, longtime DC Comics cohort Jim Lee, and WB Chairman Toby Emmerich could hope to turn around the flagging fortunes of the DCEU, Deadline mentioned that the current slate of films in production is already mixing things up.

Many believe Warner Bros and DC counted too much on director Zack Snyder, not known for his sense of humor and who set a tone so dark that it became a joke in Deadpool 2, when that superhero character told a humorless nemesis he was dark enough to be a DC universe character. There is an opportunity for Toby Emmerich to really reshuffle the executive deck on the feature side and turn DC into something more formidable than it is right now, even as a James Wan-directed Aquaman is coming and Wonder Woman 2 is in production, with Matt Reeves rebooting Batman for a new standalone franchise, likely with a new actor to play the Caped Crusader after Ben Affleck’s stints in Batman V Superman and Justice League.

That last line is the money shot here, as we had been hearing all kinds of reports about what Matt “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Reeves was cooking up for Batman. We knew that he already scrapped the original script penned by Affleck and Johns and come up with something new, but we didn’t know what. Early rumours had pegged movie this as existing outside of the DCEU, but then Reeves refuted those claims himself. So was the filmmaker reneging on that statement now? Would we have a different Batman to the one seen recently in Justice League? Well, we currently have two separate movies about the Joker, played by two different actors, in early development right now, so I would not be surprised.

The Hollywood Reporter shed some more light on the situation yesterday though, when it was reported that “writer-director Matt Reeves turned in the first act of a new screenplay during the Memorial Day weekend. It’s said to focus on a young caped crusader, and while the studio would not comment, it’s unlikely that Ben Affleck, who has played Batman in three features, will again don the cowl”. It’s always been heavily speculated but not officially confirmed that one of the reasons why Snyder aged-up Affleck for Batman v Superman (they artificially greyed his hair) was so that he could go back and tell earlier Batman stories using the same actor. I guess that idea still holds, but with how WB has frantically tried to distance themselves from Snyder’s grim DCEU oeuvre, Reeves will now be telling his own stories with his own Batman.

With Snyder’s Justice League 2 having been removed from WB’s DCEU film slate, Affleck is actually not attached to any further appearances in the DCEU right now, and he hasn’t exactly appeared enthusiastic about changing that when he appeared in interviews. Swinging the attention to some early point in the Caped Crusader’s career with a hungry young actor – maybe with the odd Affleck flashforward cameo here and there to establish this is still the same timeline – could help to keep the Batman character going strong on screen with fresh voices while allowing Affleck the emancipation from this franchise he seemingly wants as well.

Now the question just becomes, who plays the young Batman? Jake Gyllenhaal has long been considered the frontrunner for Reeves, but now he’s off to be a Spider-Man villain for rival Marvel, so that opens the floor to any and all contenders. Any names you guys want to throw out there?

Last Updated: June 15, 2018

16 Comments

  1. I really REALLY hope that the DC movies get better from hereon in.

    Reply

  2. Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

    June 15, 2018 at 11:31

    Shame, feel sorry for Affleck. Seems he just got caught in the middle of a nasty crossfire. His Batman was among the best portrayals in history.

    Also, the new batman is that kid from Gotham.

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      June 15, 2018 at 12:44

      Well Gotham is ending and the show is completely standalone from anything else DC related.

      Reply

    • MaSeKind

      June 15, 2018 at 11:50

      Actually I think he was a better Bruce Wayne than a Batman. But then again I’ve always felt that the Batman parts are lacking somehow in the movies. But I am comparing it to the Arkham games which for me is just an extension of the animated Batman.

      Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        June 15, 2018 at 13:23

        It just boggles my mind that so many Batman movies later and we haven’t once seen him properly use his genius detective mind. THAT is what sets Batman apart from other human vigilantes (Well, that and his money, but mostly that) and not how good he can punch a guy.

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          June 15, 2018 at 13:27

          ^^ this. Totally this.
          I mean, in the Dark Knight movies he resorts to screaming at the bad guy to get information.
          Much as I loved those movies, that was the one huge glaring fault in them.

          Reply

          • MaSeKind

            June 15, 2018 at 13:48

            I’ve got a suspicion Hollywood isn’t aware of the World’s Greatest Detective part or have even heard of Detective Comics.

          • Original Heretic

            June 15, 2018 at 14:04

            They seem to think that people just want to see Batman kick ass.
            The last time I can recall Batman really doing something “detectivey” in a movie was the Keaton Batman, when Joker poisoned people using all those various cosmetic item combinations. He’s the one who figures out the combination and tell Vicky Vale.
            The subsequent Batman movies really didn’t do much to build him up as a detective.

          • Original Heretic

            June 15, 2018 at 14:04

            They seem to think that people just want to see Batman kick ass.
            The last time I can recall Batman really doing something “detectivey” in a movie was the Keaton Batman, when Joker poisoned people using all those various cosmetic item combinations. He’s the one who figures out the combination and tell Vicky Vale.
            The subsequent Batman movies really didn’t do much to build him up as a detective.

        • MaSeKind

          June 15, 2018 at 13:47

          Yeah exactly. I’d love to see a Sherlock type mini-series where Batman actually has to use his brain and solve cases. Obviously there needs to be some action but keep it stealthy ninja action.

          Reply

          • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

            June 18, 2018 at 17:54

            You mean scary stealthy ninja action

      • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

        June 18, 2018 at 17:57

        They’re lacking that intimidating, scary, creature-of-the-night portrayal of Batman.

        Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      June 15, 2018 at 12:44

      Well Gotham is ending and the show is completely standalone from anything else DC related.

      Reply

      • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

        June 18, 2018 at 17:55

        Yea I was joking about the Gotham kid lol

        Reply

  3. LegionZA

    June 15, 2018 at 11:52

    How about Casey Affleck as the younger Batman. He could bulk up like Bale did.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

“Let’s get it!” Hilarious new “early access” trailer for The Suicide Squads sneaks online

A brand new trailer for The Suicide Squad has taken a very unorthodox road online, but now…