Few Hollywood icons have ever managed to reinvent themselves quite like Ben Affleck. After a series of flops in the 2000s, the actor reinvigorated his career by once again stepping behind the camera and taking charge of his own projects. His recent successes have generated quite a bit of excitement about the prospect of him taking the reins on the DCEU's first solo Batman movie, but now it seems that there's the possibility that he may not do it if he cannot get the story locked down. Affleck elaborated:
It's not a set thing and there's no script. If it doesn't come together in a way I think is really great I'm not going to do it.
Bat fans have had plenty of developments to get excited about over the course of the last few months, but Ben Affleck's recent comments to The Guardian serve as a sobering reminder that we should definitely temper our enthusiasm -- at least for now. Affleck has committed to working on the upcoming solo Batman movie, but he has also left room for himself to bail on the project if he ultimately feels like it's not working. If he can't do it properly, he won't do it at all.
Before we jump into panic mode -- which fans like us are wont to do -- we should obviously note that this doesn't inherently mean that Ben Affleck's Batman movie has been taken off of the table. Affleck has made comments like this before (specifically regarding the fact that he won't do it unless he can do it properly), but these latest comments seem particularly striking because the project has gained so much traction in recent months. Between the rumor of the film's "villain heavy" storyline, to the announcement of Joe Manganiello as Slade Wilson, it would be a serious disappointment to not see the film materialize after all of that build up.
To say that the DCEU needs Ben Affleck right now would be an understatement. As an Oscar winning screenwriter and director, he very clearly has the necessary chops to make a truly badass Batman movie. Considering the mediocre critical performance of every DCEU film to date, that's something the silver screen DC universe desperately needs. Beyond that, he has already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has what it takes to portray a genuinely legendary Batman. The Dark Knight is a cornerstone of the DC lore, and a proper Batman movie is exactly what this universe requires at this stage of the game.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that he's simply being conservative in his assessment of the project's status. CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant details related to Ben Affleck's Batman movie as new information is made available to us. If everything comes together properly the film could potentially hit theaters as early as 2018, but we will have to wait and see how that pans out.
Check out the official trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League on the next page for an even better look at the DCEU's Batman in action!
