Ben Affleck likely out soon as Batman

[Deberg_1990]

Interesting.....



The studio is working on plans to usher out Affleck’s Batman gracefully, a source says, addressing the change in some shape or form in one of the upcoming DC films.
Ben Affleck is heading to Comic-Con this weekend to promote Warner Bros.’ upcoming Justice League movie, set for a Nov. 17 release. But how many more times is he likely to put on the Batsuit? Probably not many, if ever again.

Yes, Warners’ film studio chief Toby Emmerich tells The Hollywood Reporter, "Ben is our Batman. We love him as Batman. We want to keep him in the cowl as long as we can." And Matt Reeves, who will direct the studio’s still-undated (and unwritten) The Batman, has said that he means to keep Affleck in the role. But a source with knowledge of the situation says that the studio is working on plans to usher out Affleck’s Batman — gracefully, addressing the change in some shape or form in one of the upcoming DC films.

Exactly when and how that might happen has yet to be determined, but it would be wise to bet against Affleck starring in The Batman. He has already stepped away from directing the film and Reeves is dropping the script that Affleck wrote with D.C. Entertainment’s Geoff Johns.

Reeves also has acknowledged that he has a Batman trilogy rolling around in his head, and given his success making two-thirds of a trilogy out of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, it seems fair to anticipate that Warners will want him to realize his vision.

In addition, Affleck will turn 45 in August, so he would be pushing 50 before The Batman arrives in theaters. If Reeves makes a trilogy, Affleck would be in his mid-50s at best by the time that’s done. Maybe Tom Cruise could pull that off, but Affleck’s body hasn’t exactly been a temple.

And while male stars have been able to stretch their action-film relevance further in an age when there are fewer bankable young stars (Robert Downey Jr. is 52 and going strong as Iron Man), studios favor the fresh-faced — look what happened with Spider-Man, successfully rebooted with 21-year-old Tom Holland. (Affleck also just dropped out of the Netflix project Triple Frontier, and it’s not clear what his next movie will be. His reps declined to comment.)

Warners could hypothetically create dual Batmen, keeping Affleck in the role for a planned Justice League follow-up, while letting Reeves cast his movie with a different star. But that hardly seems likely. The first Justice League already is at an inflection point: Director Zack Snyder has stepped away in mid-production and his successor, Joss Whedon, is said to be doing extensive reshoots. (Note that Justice League member Superman is played by Henry Cavill, 34, The Flash is Ezra Miller, 24, Aquaman is Jason Momoa, 37, and Wonder Woman is 32-year-old Gal Gadot.) And a second Justice League movie would be years down the road. THR reported Thursday that Shazam!, with a yet-to-be-cast title star, will be the next DC movie to shoot.



The landmark 1993 Knightfall storyline left Wayne temporarily paralyzed, leading him to appoint a vigilante called Azrael as his Batman replacement. When Azrael went rogue, Wayne came out of retirement to stop him and then swiftly retired once more, appointing Dick Grayson (AKA Robin) as the new Batman. That was so successful that when Wayne was assumed dead in 2009, Grayson took on the cowl for a second time. (Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises even went this route, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake getting the keys to the Batcave after Bale's Bruce Wayne was presumed dead.)


In the comics, Grayson stayed on as Batman even when Wayne returned to work as The Dark Knight, with the two different Batmen splitting appearances between the various comic books. Bruce Wayne took Batman Inc. and Batman and Robin, while Grayson's stories ran in Batman and Detective Comics. Grayson also appeared monthly in the Justice League of America series during this period, arguably making him the more high-profile of the two characters.

Warner Bros. could even go with the Batman Beyond approach. The fan-favorite animated series (1999-2001) saw an elderly Bruce Wayne train a young man called Terry McGinnis as his apprentice, with Wayne teaching him to take over the role as Batman. Of course, there's a downside to the passing-the-torch scenarios: It's hard to imagine fans or Reeves being excited about following someone who is not Bruce Wayne for a Batman trilogy.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...future-1023296

[sedated]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Umm. There has only been one so far

Affleck was in Suicide Squad as well.

[Fish]

"I would be an ape on the ground for Matt Reeves

I don't get this. An ape on the ground? Is that some sort of Hollywood lingo?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Fish

I don't get this. An ape on the ground? Is that some sort of Hollywood lingo?

Matt Reeves directed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the current War for the Planet of the Apes films.

Reeves is writing and directing the latest stand alone Batman film.

[Rasputin]

One thing that has bothered me in Superman V Batman is the casting of Lex Luthor. Reasoning is that the made Lex really young however Batman Bruce Wayne is rather old so there is a gap in age difference. They portray Lex Luthor as a young aspiring super villain and that's fine if Batman was a younger superhero to be.


I wish I never watched Superman V Batman I hate it more every time I think about it.


I got so many issues with that stupid movie. Good riddance Ben Affleck

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

Good riddance Ben Affleck

Affleck's going nowhere

[mdchiefsfan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

As much as I enjoyed the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Bale was essentially a secondary character.

The voice was annoying, too.

Affleck has given a much better performance portraying Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Does anyone really believe that Christian Bale's Batman would've or could've assembled the Justice League?

I don't. Not a chance.

Agreed. I think the old-school jokes of Affleck are affecting the ability to take his performance at face value. The dude has churned out success after success (I haven't really been able to pay much attention to The Accountant, but that's a different debate). He's on a different level, and those unable to take it at face value are missing out on a potentially great portrayal.

WB NEEDS Afleck, not the other way around.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by mdchiefsfan

Agreed. I think the old-school jokes of Affleck are affecting the ability to take his performance at face value. The dude has churned out success after success (I haven't really been able to pay much attention to The Accountant, but that's a different debate). He's on a different level, and those unable to take it at face value are missing out on a potentially great portrayal.

WB NEEDS Afleck, not the other way around.

[Sure-Oz]

Don't get the Affleck hate. BvS theater version wasn't good and cut poorly. Ultimate edition is much better but still a bloated movie. Affleck was my main highlight as Batman

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Don't get the Affleck hate. BvS theater version wasn't good and cut poorly. Ultimate edition is much better but still a bloated movie. Affleck was my main highlight as Batman

I'm in the minority on social media but I really enjoyed Batman v. Super man UE.

Wonder Woman steals the show but I think Affleck was great as Batman.

[CoMoChief]

WB/DC should just call up Keaton. Everyone over 30yrs old would shit their pants

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I'm in the minority on social media but I really enjoyed Batman v. Super man UE.

Wonder Woman steals the show but I think Affleck was great as Batman.

Yes, I agree. I def liked UE much better. WW was alot of fun...wife enjoyed it as well. I'm hoping the rest are close. I def like Affleck as Batman and hope he sticks.

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

‘The Batman’ To Fly In Summer 2021; Ben Affleck Passes The Torch To Next Generation Of Bruce Wayne https://t.co/pp1OLrteWA pic.twitter.com/aq4XZBfURU

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) January 31, 2019

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by Showtime

‘The Batman’ To Fly In Summer 2021; Ben Affleck Passes The Torch To Next Generation Of Bruce Wayne https://t.co/pp1OLrteWA pic.twitter.com/aq4XZBfURU— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) January 31, 2019

This bums me out. I really thought he was a great comic book Batman that we've seen on screen. I'm sure Matt Reeves will do great with the new film. The DCEU is dead.

I assume a future JL movie won't happen and will there be another Man Of Steel?

[sully1983]

IMO this is outstanding news. I loved Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes sequels and think he'll do an outstanding job with the Batman franchise . Read an article saying its being described as more "noir" Batman where he is more of a detective so that's definitely interesting.

also as far as Affleck being recast , thank god. Its time to give the role to a younger/much hungrier actor.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by sully1983

IMO this is outstanding news. I loved Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes sequels and think he'll do an outstanding job with the Batman franchise . Read an article saying its being described as more "noir" Batman where he is more of a detective so that's definitely interesting.

also as far as Affleck being recast , thank god. Its time to give the role to a younger/much hungrier actor.

This has me real intrigued. I'm a huge fan of noir and Reeves' PotA trilogy. It would certainly be a more interesting direction to take The Batman. I'd like to see him be "the world's greatest detective" solving a series of horrific murders committed by Victor Zsasz. That could be ****ing sweet if he can nail the thriller side more than the action side. It would also be a villain less people are familiar with.