Ben Affleckis no longer directingThe Batman. That has led to a lot of conversation, not only surrounding that project, but the DC Extended Universe as a whole. The move was made in order to best serve the upcoming standaloneBatmanmovie, according to both Warner Bros. andAffleck, who wants to be able to dedicate himself to the performance. We have known for a while that he has been working onThe Batman script, but it turns out thatBatman V Superman: Dawn of JusticeandJustice LeaguewriterChris Terriodid a rewrite on the movie.
There was a ton of media coverage, as one would expect, when it was officially announced thatBen Affleckis not going to directThe Batman. InDeadline’s report, it has been revealed thatChirs Terrio, who has worked a lot withBen Affleckin the past, perhaps most notably on his Best Picture winnerArgo, just turned in a rewritten draft of the screenplay. Here is what Deadline had to say about it.
“Affleck, who most recently helmed Live by Night, wrote the script with Geoff Johns, and a rewrite was just turned in by Chris Terrio, the Oscar-winning scribe of the Affleck-directed Argo.”
Warner Bros. most definitely seems to likeChris Terrioand has quite a bit of confidence in his ability, he did write on an Oscar-winning drama, after all. But the fact that he wroteBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicemay be less encouraging to those who didn’t enjoy that movie, and there were quite a few people that didn’t enjoy that movie. It has also been reported that Warner Bros. andBen Affleckhave been unhappy with the script forThe Batmanfor weeks, so that is probably whyChris Terriodid a pass on it. Assuming Deadline is correct, he just turned in his draft so it is possible he got it a little closer to where it needs to be.
On paper, this sounds like a great thing. The script for this soloBatmanmovie now has two Academy Award winning screenwriters andGeoff Johns, who wrote a ton of beloved DC Comics and is the head of the DCEU, working on the screenplay. There is definitely a lot of talent involved on the writing side of things, but it could also run the risk of becoming a “too many cooks in the kitchen” situation.
For now,Ben Affleckintends to still star in and produceThe Batmanand collaborate with whoever Warner Bros. hires to direct the movie. At the moment,Dawn of the Planet of the ApesdirectorMatt Reevesis the rumored frontrunner. It was reported that there is a chance, albeit a very small chance, thatAffleckcould wind up walking away from the movie altogether. Again, that is unlikely, but it is reportedly a possibility. It is also possible that bringing on a new director who can focus all of their time onThe Batmanis just what the movie needs to get the train back on the tracks.
We will next seeBen Affleckas thecaped crusaderin the firstJustice Leaguemovie, which is due out on November 17. Warner Bros. has not yet set a release date forThe Batman, but it is expected to shoot sometime this year.Joe Manganiellois attached to play the villain Deathstroke, withJ.K. Simmonsset to play Commissioner Gordon andJeremy Ironsreturning to play Alfred.Matt Reevesis said to be on the short list to direct. It may or may not be in theaters in2018. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more details become available.
