After the fallout of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, audiences have made one thing clear: Ben Affleck was the bomb as Batman, yo. So obviously, DC Comics and Warner Bros were more than happy to fast track the solo Batman film, with Affleck serving as the writer, director, and star of the picture. And judging by the latest rumors, it looks like his script, co-written with DC bigwig Geoff Johns, is going to see a lot of baddies for the Dark Knight already in play.
A recent report through Birth. Death. Movies. has circulated a rumor from well-placed sources stating that Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns' new Batman reboot is going to jump-start the Caped Crusader's franchise with a full compliment of villains already established. Meaning that if you're a fan of any of Batman's typical rogue's gallery, you might just see your favorite in the new Batman movie. The reason for this decision was detailed in the following statement made by the publication:
Affleck and Geoff Johns, who has been working with him on the film, want to make the definitive Batman film. They want to tell the ultimate Batman story, and to do so they're going to bring in all the big guns. They're going to have a big, sprawling Bat universe already in place.
What's interesting about this tactic is that it's the same sort of strategy that Zack Snyder used when crafting the story for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Considering how well that went over with moviegoers once the film opened in March, one would think that any future films in the DC Universe might shy away from that sort of storytelling. However, the big difference between Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and this new Batman film is that the latter is powered by Ben Affleck's chops as a writer/director/actor triple threat. With Argo and Good Will Hunting providing his two big Oscar wins, Affleck's Oscar winning magic could make this sort of movie work rather brilliantly.
Still, the possibility remains that Batman's solo effort, much like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, could suffer from the sin of too much of a pre-established universe being loaded into one film's story. Ultimately, it all comes down to how Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns handle the story at hand versus the story that hasn't been told on screen. Which is probably why it's a good thing that not only does Batman already have roots in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he'll also show up in Suicide Squad, as well as Justice League: Parts 1 and 2, before he gets a solo entry of his own. With those films in place, there's already a fair amount of villains that will be built in the DC Cinematic Universe by time a Batman solo film happens. So in the case of the yet to be titled Bat-fleck film, it won't be as jarring when the story starts in the middle of the action.
The untitled Batman solo film is set to be out "within the next five years," so we'll see what happens between now and then that helps inform as to whether a pre-fabricated Batman universe will work or not.
