To the surprise of no one, Warner Bros. has officially confirmed that astandaloneBatmanmovieis in development withBen Affleck. The announcement came during the studio’s panel atCinemaConin Las Vegas—a kind of Comic-Con for theater owners—and Collider’s own Steve Weintraub was in attendance when WB chairman and CEOKevin Tsujiharatouted that there are 10 DC movies planned over the next five years, adding “We’re excited to be working with Ben Affleck on a standalone Batman film.”
It’s unclear if Tsujihara meant to confirm that Affleck is indeed directing thisBatmanmovie or if they’re simply “working with” Affleck on the film as its star, but word has been rumbling about Affleck’s involvement with the project as a filmmakersince last summer. He’s been developing a script with DC Comics CCOGeoff Johns, with word surfacing last month that a draft of the scripthas already been completed. EvenZack Snyderseemed to suggest that an Affleck-helmedBatmanmovieis very much a possibility, but the main question mark here appears to be Affleck.
Snyder mentioned that Affleck likes to focus on one film at a time, and it’s clear that Warner Bros. and Co. would love nothing more than for Affleck to direct a standaloneBatmanmovie, so the ball’s been in Affleck’s court. He is just coming off of wrapping his first directorial project since the Best Picture-winningArgo, a Prohibition-era gangster story calledLive by Night, and will be toiling away at post-production on that Warner Bros. flick during and after shootingJustice League, which just recently kicked off in London.
Live by Nightis set for release in October 2017 so Affleck has some time to finish up that picture, but it’s possible that he could have hisBatmanmovie ready to go before cameras by the first half of 2017. Warner Bros. has unspecific DC movies set for release on June 14, 2025 and August 15, 2025, so it’s likely thisBatmanmovie would be slotted into one of those dates. Assuming Affleck’sofficiallysigned on to direct, that is.
Update: Ben Affleck will indeed be directing the standaloneBatmanmovie.
