After Variety’s report that Ben Affleck has officially stepped back from directing The Batman, a movie he is also set to produce, star in and write, speculation is rife for who will land the critical director’s spot.
The shortlist is rumored to include War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves, Mad Max’s George Miller, The Accountant ’s Gavin O’Connor, Arrival’s Denis Villeneuve and Captain Fantastic’s Matt Ross ( via Forbes).
“There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions,” Affleck said in a statement to Variety. “Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require. Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director. I remain extremely committed to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world.”
“Warner Bros. fully supports Ben Affleck’s decision and remains committed to working with him to bring a standalone Batman picture to life,” the studio said in a separate statement.
Director issues are not the only issues The Batman is facing. The script was written by Affleck, along with DC Comics chief creative Officer Geoff Johns, and a rewrite was just turned in by Chris Terrio, the Oscar-winning writer of Argo (directed by Affleck).
News of the rewrites follows writer Bret Easton Ellis’ juicy gossip about script issues at DC:
“I was having dinner with a couple of executives who know other executives who are working on the [forthcoming] Batman movie, The Batman,” Ellis said to The Ringer. “And they were just telling me that there are serious problems with the script.
“They just said they went to the studio and they said, ‘Look, the script is … Here’s 30 things that are wrong with it that we can fix.’ And [the executives] said, ‘We don’t care. We don’t really care. The amount of money we’re going to make globally, I mean 70 percent of our audience is not going to be seeing this in English. And it doesn’t really matter, these things that you’re bringing up about the flaws of the script.’”
Ellis later pedaled back on his comments in a statement posted to Facebook and Twitter, where he wrote “I regret that it came off as if I was disparaging the project”:
https://twitter.com/BretEastonEllis/status/794676696565694464/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But as Affleck himself stated in an interview with The Guardian, “If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it.”
Fingers crossed that the script rewrites bear fruit. DC’s caped crusader deserves nothing less than the best. Are you hopeful for the project now that Ben Affleck won’t be directing The Batman? Feel free to let us know in our comments section below.
