Three years ago, it was announced that Ben Affleck would be playing Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman in the then-nascent DC Extended Universe. This news meant not only that Affleck would be playing the Caped Crusader in what would wind up being Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but also in many more franchise films to come. Of course, this is still the case, as the newly-introduced version of the Dark Knight is set to appear in at least two movies between now and 2020... but that isn't stopping Jeffrey Dean Morgan (the DCEU's Thomas Wayne) from still dreaming about his own chance to wear the iconic cape and cowl. In fact, he knows exactly how he wants it to happen: through a big screen adaptation of the DC Comics event known as Flashpoint.
With Jeffrey Dean Morgan's new movie Desierto set to arrive in theaters this weekend, I had the pleasure of sitting down with him for an interview this afternoon -- and while we touched on many aspects of his career, one was the subject of how he came to play Thomas Wayne in the DC Extended Universe. After telling me about how he didn't even know what role he was playing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice until he arrived in Chicago for his night of shooting (pun intended), he told me that he is still holding out hope for his chance to play Batman through a big screen version the aforementioned 2011 DC Comics crossover story. Said the actor,
Maybe when he cast me that was kind of the goal. Hopefully DC can figure this all out, and in a few years I can come back and do a Flashpoint Batman! I would love it. That would be great.
For those unfamiliar with Flashpoint, it was a universe-changing event that began when Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash traveled back in time to prevent his mother from being murdered when he was a child. This wound up changing the futures of just about every major DC hero, including Batman, thanks to the ripple effect of Chaos Theory. In the Dark Knight's new timeline, it wasn't Thomas and Martha Wayne who were shot and killed by a mugger in an alley, but instead the young Bruce Wayne. This event not only lead Thomas on a path to become his own version of Gotham's famous protector, but saw Martha going completely crazy and turning into The Joker. It's worth noting that Flashpoint was just adapted on the on-going third season of the Flash television series, but because there is no on-screen Batman in the DC TV continuity, we haven't seen those elements of the comics adapted yet.
Why would Jeffrey Dean Morgan think this is a possibility? On beyond hopes and dreams, it also ties back to a conversation that he had with director Zack Snyder back when they were working together on Watchmen. It was back then that Snyder first told Morgan about his hopes of one day bringing his own vision of Batman to cinema, and at the time even said that he would love to see Morgan in the role:
I have not had any big discussions with him about [Flashpoint], but I remember when we were in Australia doing Watchmen press, and I was having dinner with Zack or whatever. And he was like, 'My dream is to do the Frank Miller Batman.' And he goes, 'You would be an awesome Batman.' The darker version.
Zack Snyder obviously wound up getting his chance to bring this specific version of the Caped Crusader to life in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it's been said that after Justice League the DCEU will be getting brighter instead of darker -- but that's not stopping us from keeping our fingers tightly crossed that we may one day see Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Thomas Wayne version of Batman.
While we wait, audiences can see Jeffrey Dean Morgan next on the big screen in Desierto, and be sure to stay tuned for more from our interview with the actor!
