Held up as one of the few redeeming qualities of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck’s rendition of the Caped Crusader is now primed to get his own solo movie with The Batman – one which Affleck himself will write, direct and star in.
Penning the script alongside DC Comics scribe Geoff Johns – a “f**king genius,” in Affleck’s eyes – it’s been revealed that Warner’s offshoot will feature a relatively original story.
At least, that’s according to Ben Affleck himself, who initially dropped the nugget of information doing the press rounds for Dawn of Justice (via CosmicBookNews). There, the writer-director reveals that he plans to lay the narrative groundwork with some of the fundamental tropes associated with the World’s Greatest Detective, before moulding an original story around that framework.
“I think what I would do, what I probably would do, is in some ways what Zack did with this movie, which is to borrow certain things from the great comic books, but create an original story around it because I wouldn’t want the fans to already know the story and be familiar, but I would borrow, steal, great things that have been done before in the comics.”
Currently without a release date, there’s no indication regarding when The Batman will enter production in earnest. Although, considering Ben Affleck’s bustling slate – both with the cape and cowl, and without – the writer-director’s vision for the Caped Crusader is surely still three to four years out.
Affleck will next be seen as Warner’s watchful protector for Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Part 1 in 2017. He’ll also executive produce the ensemble piece in light of Batman V Superman‘s meek reception.