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ben-affleck-batman.jpg

Ben Affleck Is Officially Done Being Batman Because the DCEU Is Good Now

By Mike Redmond | Film | January 31, 2019 |

By Mike Redmond | Film | January 31, 2019 |


ben-affleck-batman.jpg

Earlier in the week, I covered the current state of the DCEU and almost made the mistake of writing off Matt Reeves The Batman as a project that Warner Bros. was quietly smothering in its sleep. There’d been almost zero updates since the summer, and since then, Henry Cavill has been kinda, sorta probably fired and Amy Adams ran around saying the DC Universe is being revamped, which is definitely happening.

However, The Batman is absolutely not dead, and on Wednesday, there was a buttload of moment on that front starting with a Reeves interview in The Hollywood Reporter where he reiterated his intentions to lean hard into the Dark Knight’s detective skills.

It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.

Reeves also confirmed the DCEU’s new trajectory of giving zero fucks about a shared universe.

Right now, I’m involved in The Batman. What it will be called ultimately, I don’t know. Aquaman is going to be very different from the Todd Phillips Joker movie, and that’s going to be different from Shazam and Harley Quinn. Warners believes they don’t have to try to develop a giant slate that has to have all the plans for how it’s going to connect. What they need to try and do is make good movies with these characters.

What Reeves notably didn’t mention is Ben Affleck’s involvement in The Batman, which thank God, has finally been put to rest.

Deadline reports:

Warner Bros. is dating their next rendition of Batman for June 25, 2021. This is the one that Matt Reeves has been attached to as writer and director. Ben Affleck, we hear, will not be donning the Dark Knight’s tights after playing the Caped Crusader in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League and that’s because this movie will focus on a younger Bruce Wayne.

And just to make it official, Affleck tweeted Deadline’s report.

So that’s finally over with, but the DCEU isn’t done flexing because it’s clearly staking out Summer 2021, which will also feature James Gunn’s take on the Suicide Squad as both writer and director.

THR reports:

The pic has the title of The Suicide Squad and is not being labeled a direct sequel but as a relaunch. The 2016 original movie featured the characters Deadshot, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc, who are forced into the service of the government in exchange for lighter prison sentences.

Sources say that Gunn’s focus is to take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors. Sources also say that the project is also very much rooted in Gunn’s vibe, as seen in the Guardians movies.

Here’s where things get weird. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) reportedly takes place after the events of Suicide Squad, but now we know that movie is being rebooted, so oh no, I’ve gone cross-eyed.

The important thing is this dude is out of the picture, and seriously, WTF is this? C’mon.

And now for a little schtick I do that might make you some of you wonder how the hell I’m a writer here, which is the appropriate response. You’re doing it right.

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“Hang ahn fah a second, Chahleen with a rope. Some fackin’ kid with a fackin’ science faih prahject said what about Tahm Brady? And fackin’ Harry Pottah’s in on it, too? You know what? Don’t fackin’ tell me. I’ll be ovah heah listenin’ to Five Fingah Death Punch.”

“But, Bruce, Steppenwolf has the Motherb-“

♫ I’M ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE OF HELL ♫



Header Image Source: Warner Bros.