When Warner Bros. hired Oscar-winner Ben Affleck to play Batman, it was pretty obvious they wanted more than his jawline. The latest rumor about the character is that Affleck both will star in and direct a November 2018 solo film called The Batman, written by Oscar-winning Argo writer Chris Terrio.
Latino Review posted the rumor, which remains a rumor until it’s confirmed by Warner Bros. But the rumor, of course, makes perfect sense on every level and has been mentioned before.
It’ll break down like this: Affleck will debut as Batman in March 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which Terrio wrote. He’ll then appear briefly in August 2016’s Suicide Squad and in a larger role in Justice League: Part One, out November 2017. Justice League: Part Two is currently scheduled for June 2019, which leaves an opening for more Batman. That’s where this new film would come in. Terrio is also scheduled to write both Justice League movies, so the timing, and continuity, works.
Odds are a lot of this will get cleared up in San Diego next month as Warner Bros. is expected to make several major announcements regarding its upcoming slate at Comic-Con. One of the other new rumors is that the studio will have two Green Lanterns, one of which could be played by Chris Pine.
Affleck himself is a very busy man, but a November 2018 movie wouldn’t really have to go into full production until mid to late 2017. That’ll give him plenty of time to clear his schedule, some of which requires playing Batman again, however he sees fit. He knew what he got into when he took this role, though. As powerful and iconic as Superman is, Batman is the crown jewel of the Warner Bros. DC roster. Affleck’s long term commitment was surely a major factor in the architecture of all its upcoming plans.
The questions then become: Will The Batman be a prequel? Will he face Jared Leto’s Joker? The speculation never stops.
Oh, and if The Batman is released in November 2018, it’ll be in competition with Marvel Studios’ first female-led film, Captain Marvel.
