Shortly after reports claimed Ben Affleck was thinking about directing himself in DC’s solo Batman movie, the actor confirmed the possibility by saying “it’s something I’d be open to,” and “it’s an exciting idea,” and similar buzz phrases. But is he actually doing it? Though a finite answer is still unclear, the actor is keeping hope alive with his recent comments to USA Today.
Speaking with the newspaper for its DC movie preview, Affleck was asked whether he signed on to play the Dark Knight for a potential chance to tell his own superhero stories. He replied:
I’ll just say going through the process, I would never have imagined that I could or would direct a movie like this. And in working with [Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder] and seeing what he did and watching him every day, I got really inspired by that and by seeing the scope on which he was telling the story, by seeing what he was able to do with this kind of mythic story on a grand scale.
Affleck will make his debut as Batfleck in this March’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which he’ll follow up with another appearance in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad in August and Justice League down the road. These two films were announced by Warner Bros. along with a hefty slate that included solo outings for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and even Cyborg. Though at the time further standalones for the two DC head honchos, Superman and Batman, weren’t formally revealed, talk has been circulating since.
One report from earlier this year claimed Affleck’s solo outing would be called The Batman for a potential release in 2018, which would make sense given the schedule that sees Justice League: Part One filming later this spring/summer and Part Two possibly shooting sometime in 2017. Though, for now, all Affleck is sure of is that he’s directing Live By Night, out next year.
