Ben Affleck, competent screenwriter and excellent director, has ripped Batman out of David Goyer’s clutches. Though it was already known that Affleck—whose portrayal of Batman has been widely praised as one of the few elements of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that was any good—would direct the next solo Batman movie, The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Wednesday that Affleck already has a script complete.
William Morris Endeavor co-CEO Patrick Whitesell told THR that "there's a script that he's written that is a really cool idea, so that's out there as an option." Whether this is the Batman script Affleck worked on with comic book writer and DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns is unknown.
While director Zack Snyder has taken the brunt of the blame for the narrative muddle of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Goyer surely deserves a healthy slice of crticism. Widely credited as the writer of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy (though he only co-wrote Batman Begins ), Goyer’s reputation as a blockbuster screenwriter has far outpaced his talent. His filmography includes The Crow: City of Angels, Jumper, Blade: Trinity, Man of Steel and some terrible horror movies. His best credits, including Batman Begins and Blade I , were all co-written with auteur directors known for their specific and consistent vision.
Goyer is a comic book fanatic, so it’s easy to see why he shares credits on so many superhero movies, but the sloppy Batman v Superman story will probably give Warner Brothers pause in giving him so much control over the cinematic DC universe moving forward.
Ben Affleck, armed with a simmering, well-received Batman characterization and his own script, may be one of the few people who can get the DC movies back on track.
