The good news is thatBen Affleckis most definitely working on a standaloneBatmanmovie for Warner Bros. as part of the DC Extended Universe. The bad part is, it is a little confusing in terms of what is actually going on with this movie at the moment. Today we bring you a new update which is positive, but kind of conflicts, at least tonally, with some recent comments the director made aboutThe Batman.
Ben Affleckrecently spoke withVarietyabout his upcoming movieLive By Night, his first directorial effort sinceArgo. During the course of the conversation, things inevitably turned towardThe Batmanand what the status of that movie is at the moment. According to him, everything is looking good for a spring 2017 production start. Here is what he had to say.
“We’re on the right track with that and everything is coming together. We’re still finishing up ascript. I’m very excited.”
Ben Affleckindicating thatThe Batmanis on track to shoot in the spring gels with whatJoe Manganiellohas said, who will be playing the villain Deathstroke in the movie. It isn’t so much thatBen Affleckis flip-flopping on what he is saying all the time. He only does that occasionally, like when he pretty much declared that thisBatman moviewould simply be calledThe Batman, but then essentially rescinded that comment very shortly after. It is just that the tone of his comments in regards to the movie seem to change day-to-day. Just before these recent comments to Variety, he spoke with the New York Times. He also indicated they are still working on the script, but sort of made it seem as though the movie isn’t at all where it needs to be and that he isn’t going to rush things.
“We still have to get a screenplay and get it together. I am [writing it]; that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be good. [laughs] I’m a real believer in not doing, not reverse engineering projects to meet a window or a date, but rather like when you get the right story or you get the right idea or you get the right thing, then you make the movie. And so that’s what we’re doing, and I’m hoping to get that done and spending a lot of time on that, but I’m also working on other stuff. And if I could, if I can find it right then there’s nothing I’d love more than to direct a standalone, you know, iconic great Batman movie.”
Not that those two statements are all that dissimilar, but the tone is certainly different. With Variety, he makes it seem a little more like things are full-steam ahead. With the New York Times, it sounds much more like an early stages sort of thing and like he has a full plate of other projects he is trying to work around. There were also recent reports that Warner Bros. bumped backJustice League 2in order to make room forThe Batman. They very clearly want this movie and so doesBen Affleck, but Warner Bros. is probably a little more eager to get cameras rolling asap. In any case,Ben Affleckreally is saying all of the right things about it. Here is what else he offered to Variety in regards toThe Batman.
“I respect all of those [Batman] movies. Christopher Nolan did an incredible job, Christian Bale did an incredible job, Tim Burton did an incredible job. At a certain point you have to look forward and attempt to believe in your own vision for it and not be looking over your shoulder the whole time. I go into that movie with a tremendous amount of respect for the people who came before me.”
Ben Affleckwill next be showing up as Batman inJustice League, which is set to hit theaters on July 05, 2025. As for when we might be able to seeThe Batman? It is highly suspected that the movie will take the release date previously held byJustice League 2, which would place it on August 18, 2025. Only time will tell, but hopefully, in the near future, we can get some firm information.
