Now that we’ve had time to adjust to the unfortunate news that Ben Affleck has stepped down as director of The Batman to supposedly place more focus on co-writing, producing and starring in the film, we can turn our attention to other details surrounding the project’s production.
As the search begins for a new director amid whisperings that Affleck could vacate his position as the titular character continue to pop up, word has gotten out (via Deadline) that Chris Terrio, screenwriter for both Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the upcoming Justice League, recently rewrote the screenplay originally submitted by Affleck and Geoff Johns.
I don’t mean to be misconstrued as being negative, but being the overly analytical person that I am, I can’t help but wonder if this is what possibly led to some trouble in paradise. After all, Affleck (an award-winning screenwriter) is well-known to be a big fan of the character of Batman and Johns, well, just so happens to be running the show at DC in addition to being one of the greatest writers in all of comics today. Not only that, but he co-developed The Flash for The CW and has much experience writing for various superhero shows.
Now, none of us have read their script, but seeing as how the reputations of both Affleck and Johns obviously precede them, it’s downright baffling to think why anything concocted by their collective minds would be in need of an overhaul. Perhaps they took it in stride and it’s just business as usual in Hollywood, but it’s definitely something to think on, regardless of knowing Terrio and Affleck have worked together before.
Or, if we are to be more optimistic, this could have been at Affleck’s suggestion and calls back to when he said there’s “not enough money in the world to make a mediocre Batman.” Suffice it to say, there are several angles to consider.
Should Terrio’s draft end up being the shooting script, we can only hope that the final product it yields runs 120-140 minutes and doesn’t push three hours, leading it to being hacked up in the editing room as was the case with BvS. I’m sure some folks won’t mind owning an extended edition of The Batman on Blu-ray, but let’s stop making what I’ve dubbed “mea culpa cuts” a habit.
