There's been a lot of reports lately about Ben Affleck's current status with the upcoming solo Batman movie, specifically whether he will still direct it or not. For now, Affleck has confirmed he's focusing on the script and taking the time to perfect the story before moving to the next stage. However, should he helm the new Batman adventure, there is one change he wants. And when we say "change," we mean that figuratively and literally, because the actor has a wardrobe issue.
While plugging his new movie, Live by Night, Ben Affleck told USA Today that when he's directing the Batman movie, there will need to be some changes made to the Caped Crusader's costume so that he won't feel nearly as uncomfortable during production. As he put it:
I know what it's like to be in the suit. We'll have to modify the suit to make it a little bit easier to put on and take off. When you are in it, you can be sweating, crazy and exhausted, do your part and walk away. But when you're a director, you can't walk away. You have to be there for everybody. Chief among the challenges of doing Batman, will be finding a suit that's more comfortable.
You can't help but think back to The Dark Knight with this comment, when Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne asked Lucius Fox for a new suit after finding it difficult to move in his Batman Begins costume. He got what he wanted, with the tradeoff being that he was more susceptible to harm in his new duds. Of course, the reason for the costume change in the Christopher Nolan Batman movies was mainly for story reasons. In Ben Affleck's case, it's a comfort issue, because he's not in the same situation he found himself in during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. When the camera stops rolling, he doesn't get to take a regular break like the other actors. As director, he has to keep an eye on all the moving parts, and you can't do good work off-camera if you're still crazily sweating.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, Ben Affleck will be the first person to play Batman and direct a Caped Crusader-centric story at the same time. So if getting a new Batsuit that's both more comfortable and easier to get out of is what it takes for him to make a great Batman movie, then costume department, make it happen! Besides, having multiple Batsuits is nothing new in the Batman mythos. The DCEU alone has already shown three Batsuits: the regular one, the armored one he fought Superman in and the tactical one that will be introduced in Justice League (seen above).
Ben Affleck's Batman movie doesn't have an official release date yet, but it was recently rumored that production has been delayed until mid-summer. We'll keep you apprised on how the project is progressing as more updates come in.
