Ben Affleck Let Go from ‘The Batman’, Christian Bale Set to Reprise
It seems that Warner Brothers simply cannot get a break for their beloved Bat-franchise. Sure, Joss Whedon may have been tapped to direct and write a Batgirl movie but what of the tentatively titled The Batman? There have been some well-publicized issues regarding the anticipated film. Ben Affleck was originally set to direct, star, and write The Batman but he was recently replaced by Matt Reeves of rebooted Planet of the Apes as director in early March.
On top of that, the script Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio had turned in for The Batman was thrown out and restarted from scratch. Chris Terrio had helped re-write the Batman V Superman script from the David S. Goyer version and helped write the upcoming Justice League movies. However, it seems that Ben Affleck will be hanging up the cowl after his next 3 contracted appearances in both parts of the Justice League and the still in-development Suicide Squad 2.
Was it bad blood between Ben Affleck and Warner Brothers? Did Ben Affleck not like the direction DC Comics’ Caped Crusader was taking? Did Warner Brothers want somebody different? Was someone’s newly reported alcoholism an issue? Whatever the case is, there has been very little in terms of an emotional response from Affleck. “I’ve finally learnt how to say, ’No comment’. To appear in the tabloids is a real learning curve and a steep one at that. You had better learn quick or you get burnt,” he continued, “There’s a lot of noise in this world and the internet magnifies that.” Yowch. Maybe time will tell us that story!
On the bright side of things, it looks like the actor who helped recover the Batman role from George Clooney’s take is willing to come back and save it once again. As of this writing, Christian Bale is set to return to the iconic role. I guess he isn’t the Batman we wanted, but the one we needed! After The Dark Knight Rises, Christian Bale said he never wanted to return to the role but it is nice to see him warming up to the role once again. “I like the idea of movies having a magic element. How many times have you seen an actor in a movie who you know only as the character? It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”
The Batman will start production after Matt Reeves finishes post-production on War for the Planet of the Apes which will be sometime in June. This will allow for the script to be rewritten and provide Reeves with more creative control.
