The Batman Is Going To Be A Classic, Even With All The Drama
There have been conflicting reports recently over whether or not everyone’s new favorite Batman, Ben Affleck, who appeared in a bad Batman and Superman movie is going to stick around as the Caped Crusader for much longer.
While Affleck himself claimed that he loves being Batman, it was leaked that the studio behind the Justice League are in the process of phasing Affleck’s Batman out while simultaneously passing the torch on to a younger actor, presumably whoever they choose to play the new Nightwing.
With all this drama surrounding the unsure future of the character, it doesn’t help that the next standalone Batman film, tentatively titled The Batman, has consistently been rife with drama all on its own in the lead up to the Justice League.
After the introduction of Affleck’s Batman in the critically panned Batman v Superman, fans went nuts over the prospect of Ben Affleck himself stepping in to direct the next standalone Batman sequel.
Although Affleck has had an extremely unsteady career, in recent years Affleck has established a solid cinematic street cred when he shifted his focus mainly as an actor to that of a director. After helming critical darlings such as Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo, it seemed that Affleck had finally found his groove in the most unlikely of spots: behind the camera.
Due to this unprecedented level of success, it only seemed natural that Affleck would take on the challenge and direct the next Batman movie himself.
The move just made sense. It was hoped by both the fanbase and the studio that Affleck could step in and help correct some of the underlying issues that had plagued the DC universe thus far.
But while Affleck seemed pretty adamant that he was indeed directing The Batman, he broke fanboy’s hearts everywhere when it was announced that he had stepped away from directorial negotiations with the studio which left the powers that be headhunting for a new director to pick up where Affleck left off.
If only the drama had stopped there.
The studio did indeed find a director, but only for a short while. It was quickly announced that Matt Reeves, the director of the extremely well received Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and — the at the time unreleased — War of the Planet of the Apes, was stepping in as the director of The Batman.
While this sudden change left fans a little unsure at first, once the idea had a chance to marinate folks seemed willing to see where this new direction was going.
And then disaster struck. Again.
In an unexpected and jarring move, it was announced that Reeves had suddenly departed the project, leaving the studio once again directorless.
The hunt was on… Again.
Once more, speculation ramped up as to who would fill in after Affleck’s and Reeve’s departures. It didn’t help that a similar situation was occurring with the Flash’s first planned standalone film.
Until…the unexpected happened. Again!
In a rare turnaround, Matt Reeves triumphantly returned as the director of The Batman, but this time with one little caveat. Instead of working off of Affleck’s initial script, Reeve’s had positioned himself in such a way that he was able to leverage the studio’s desperation to gain full creative control over The Batman project. This meant that instead of working off of a script he didn’t particularly like — Affleck’s — he could rewrite it from scratch with little to no studio hampering.
Sudden director switches rarely work, and even if they do fans are left wondering, “What if?” Just for comparison, look at Ant-Man after Edgar Wright left the project due to creative differences with the Marvel team. Even though Ant-Man was relatively well received, many still wonder what it could have been had Wright stayed on.
So yes, it sounds bleak for everyone’s favorite brooding hero who has an affinity for nocturnal animals.
But…even with all that, I’m not worried. Well…not too worried. Of course it’s possible that The Batman will turn into a total train wreck, but the odds are against that being the case in my mind.
One big reason is of course Ben Affleck. One thing that many seem to forget is that Affleck is still involved and seems to be doing his best — at least publicly — to stay enthusiastic about the project and his role in the DC Extended Universe.
Lest we forget, Affleck’s performance as the Caped Crusader in BvS was the main highlight of the film. But the biggest difference with this project is that unlike BvS or Justice League, Affleck won’t have to split his screentime with any other superheroes. It will be just him and the story. Nothing in between. A true Batman story. And I believe that Affleck wants to deliver on that prospect.
It feels like some people have hard feelings about Affleck’s departure from the director’s seat, seemingly because they think that he gave up on the project. While this sentiment may not be completely untrue, I can totally see Affleck’s viewpoint about helming a Batman movie while also playing the titular character. How would you like suiting up in the Batman suit every day while simultaneously doing your best to direct a team of filmmaking professionals? While it’s not impossible, I get the implausibility of the proposal.
But at least it’s fair to say that Affleck hasn’t given up on being Batman altogether. Based on his recent comments at the San Diego Comic-Con, he is totally onboard with his role in the DC Extended Universe.
“Let me be very clear: I am the luckiest guy in the world. Batman is the coolest part in any universe — DC, Marvel. It’s incredible. … I’m so thrilled to do it.”
“I know there was a misconception that because I didn’t direct it that I wasn’t enthusiastic about it. But it’s f***ing amazing. And I still can’t believe I’ve done two films and have this great history with this studio.”
“I would be an ape on the ground for Matt Reeves — nevermind being Batman. So I’m really blown away and excited, and it’s a great time in the DC Universe.”
http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/22/entertainment/ben-affleck-batman/index.html
Those don’t sound like the words of a person who isn’t happy to be where he’s at. While it can be argued that he sounded optimistic about the directing gig and ‘look how that turned out,’ I think now that he’s shed the burden of playing director, it will give him the flexibility to spread his acting wings in the DC universe without being hampered by directorial duties. Hopefully this has created a more stress-free atmosphere for the actor to truly make the role his own.
But while Affleck is all well and great, he’s actually not the main reason to be excited for The Batman.
The main reason to be enthusiastic about The Batman is of course the impactful director of Dawn and War of the Planet of the Apes. Matt Reeves.
To put it bluntly, Reeves just so happens to be a culmination of the best of Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan, and that is a very good thing. Dawn perfectly showcased Reeve’s ability to handle wonderful character moments while simultaneously delivering on adrenaline pumping action set pieces. While Christopher Nolan mainly delivered on a character level with his Batman movies that had heretofore never been explored cinematically, Snyder delivered comic book-like action sequences that fans had always wanted out of a Batman movie.
Marrying the two through Reeves will be a dream come true.
It‘s no secret that Snyder isn’t very good with character buildup, but his action sequences involving Batman were some of the best anyone had ever seen. And conversely, Christopher Nolan did something with Batman that had never been done before, tell a good Batman story about Batman.
Reeves has already shown that he can do both, and quite well I might add.
The character progression of Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was emotional and heartbreaking because Caesar felt like a real person with real problems, not a random character plugging a spot in a screenplay.
And then there’s the action. The tone of the final battle in Dawn proves that Reeves will be right at home slipping into Snyder’s visual style while spinning it into something unique and personal.
You may notice that I’m focusing on Dawn and not War which was just recently released to great critical acclaim. The reason being is that while War was a pretty good movie, the screenplay wasn’t as tight or focused as Dawn’s was. Of course that’s a screenplay problem, not a directorial problem. (Reeves is admittedly partially to blame since he was a co-screenwriter for the film.)
Even though War didn’t live up to its full potential, it still had some terrific scenes that showcase Reeve’s ability to take on The Batman just like Dawn did.
It also helps what Reeves has said about his take on how he wants to do his Batman movie. He has said recently that he is taking influence from the great Alfred Hitchcock for his story, which is something you would never hear Snyder say out loud. This is great news because many of Hitchcock’s stories dealt with paranoia, intrigue and mystery. These are crucial elements that a new take on Batman needs.
As great as some of the Batman films have been to date, not one has truly showcased Batman as being the world’s greatest detective. In fact, BvS showcased how much of an ignorant idiot Bruce Wayne is. So hopefully The Batman will be able to steer the ship right and show us how truly capable Batman is when he’s not irrationally angry at the nicest extraterrestrial to ever visit earth.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting The Batman to surpass Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, but I am enthusiastic enough that I suspect that this new film will be in the top three or four best Batman movies to date.
Although I was excited about the prospect of an outsider like Ben Affleck directing a Batman movie, things have actually turned out for the best and I’m more excited than ever for the future of Batman.
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