It’s looking more and more likely that the leaked schedule we got a few days back for Warner Bros.’ superhero universe is accurate, which means that, after 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, we’ll be getting Shazam, Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, an untitled Flash/Green Lantern team-up flick and Man of Steel 2. However, one movie that we haven’t heard anything about is a standalone vehicle for Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader.
That being said, it’s quite obvious that Warner Bros. has a vested interest in keeping the Oscar-winning actor/director around as the Dark Knight well past Dawn of Justice (though a lot of fans are less sold on the idea of Batfleck than the studio execs seem to be). While we haven’t heard anything concrete on their future plans for the character, Latino Review is reporting that the studio is looking at slotting a standalone Batman blockbuster, titled The Batman, for 2019, to follow on the heels of Man of Steel 2.
Affleck is directing, writing and starring in his Argo follow-up Live By Night after Dawn of Justice, with the period gangster pic slotted to hit theaters in October of 2016. Warner Bros. will reportedly begin working on a script for The Batman after that, with the goal of starting production in 2017 or 2018. Latino Review’s report suggests that Affleck could also helm The Batman as his Live By Night follow-up, but that’s strictly speculation and isn’t supported by anything other than wishful thinking on the part of the site’s writer.
Personally, I’m really unhappy with Affleck as Batman, and I’m not saying that as one of the rabid fanboys who immediately attacked him when he was cast. I’ve thought about the casting a great deal over the last couple months, and the idea of an older, world-weary Batman doesn’t, in my opinion, fit into the kind of cinematic universe that Warner Bros. is trying to create – at least, if the destruction-heavy, plot-light Man of Steel was any indication. Hopefully The Batman, if it’s real, will actually focus on its title character, rather than throwing as many gargantuan battle sequences at its audience as Man of Steel did.
Tell us, what do you think of Ben Affleck getting his own solo outing with the character? Sound off below!