‘Justice League 2’ Steps Aside for ‘The Batman’: The Pros and Cons of the Studio’s Switcheroo

By
Keith O'Neil
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Geoff Johns Explains Adjustments to 'Justice League' Post 'Batman V Superman'

The news about Justice League 2 being pushed back and replaced with Ben Affleck’s The Batman certainly shook up the release slate for Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment. Is it the best move for DC or will it backfire? To get a handle on the proposed wisdom or utter lunacy of the decision, let’s get our Jimmy Fallon on and weigh the pros and cons of The Batman taking Justice League 2’s place.

Pros:

It Gives Zack Snyder a Break to Recharge His Batteries

GETTY IMAGES/ KEVIN MAZUR
“Another movie with Batman and Superman? Is this Groundhog Day? Am I in Edge of Tomorrow?” Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES/ KEVIN MAZUR

Every director gets burned out doing the same thing over and over again. It happened to Sam Raimi with the original Spider-Man series. Michael Bay took a break between Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction with 2013’s Pain & Gain.

'Justice League 2' Steps Aside for 'The Batman': The Pros and Cons Behind the Studio's Switcheroo
If you wear THIS, your movie will usurp the scheduled debut of other films!

Justice League is going to be Snyder’s third consecutive film in the DCEU since Man of Steel. The last film Snyder did that wasn’t related to DC Comics was 2011’s Sucker Punch. Now, Snyder is directing a pet project of his called The Last Photograph. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film “centers on a war correspondent in Afghanistan who is the only one to survive an attack on a group of Americans. When a special ops soldier in search of a family member shows up, the two team up, with the correspondent hoping to score the story of his life.”

 

This brief hiatus from the DCEU may help Snyder recharge his creative batteries. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Ben Affleck Has Time to Work out The Batman’s Script

e League 2' Steps Aside for 'The Batman': The Pros and Cons Behind the Studio's Switcheroo
“Never again will I be in movies like Gigli and Surviving Christmas!” Photo Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures

Affleck has never been one to talk about movies that never get made. However, I’ve noticed WB and Affleck haven’t given the Affleck-directed Batman film a release date yet. Granted, the movie is still a few years away, so it gives Affleck and co-writer Geoff Johns (superstar writer for DC) time to perfect the script for this iteration of the Caped Crusader.

At a New York Times event, Affleck said, “We still have to get a screenplay and get it together. I’m a real believer in not reverse-engineering projects to meet a window or a date.”

Glad to see Affleck is taking the task of writing the screenplay, as well as directing, seriously. Better to take time with the film than rushing to get it out.

Warner Brothers’ DCEU Slate Isn’t a House of Cards

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The WB shield: not just a logo, it protects the brand! Photo Credit: Warner Brothers Entertainment

A recent trend adopted by several Hollywood studios, especially after Marvel Studios rose to prominence, is the creation of films that may beget multi-film franchises. In 2013, Disney was banking on The Lone Ranger to become their next big franchise. Unfortunately, it failed miserably and is one of the biggest box office bombs ever.

Sony learned a hard lesson when The Amazing Spider-Man franchise fell well below expectations. Same for 2016’s Ghostbusters. Now that Justice League 2 is pushed back, WB won’t be forcing things to happen in movies after Justice League. Sure, you can accuse them of shoehorning things into Batman V Superman, but this frees them up a bit. So, if a future DCEU film doesn’t perform well, they now have time to go back to the drawing board and possibly change things that could happen in the Justice League sequel.

Cons:

It Might Cause a Noticeable Gap Between Justice League Films

Remember how the huge gap between Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For killed any enthusiasm the franchise might’ve had? I’m not predicting there will be a ten-year gap between Justice League films, but the delay might not help. Yeah, there was a three year wait between both Avengers films, but everything was on track for Marvel. There’s a sweet spot DC and WB need to hit (two and three years between films) to keep movie goers interested in their brand. Hopefully they won’t wait too long.

Actors and Actresses Might Leave

'Justice League 2' Steps Aside for 'The Batman': The Pros and Cons Behind the Studio's Switcheroo
Possible headlines FROM THE FUTURE!!!!! Photo Credit: the CW

With the delay, WB and DC Entertainment run the risk of a key cast member having scheduling conflicts in the future, possibly causing them to drop out of the sequel. Movies like Iron Man 2 and The Avengers were perfectly fine recasting roles like Dr. Bruce Banner (from Ed Norton to Mark Ruffalo) and Jim Rhodes (from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle). Might not be too big of a deal, but WB should do everything they can to keep the core cast.

So, those are the pros and cons of The Batman taking Justice League 2’s spot on the DCEU roster. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments section below!