Regardless of how you feel about Affleck’s turn under the cowl, few would argue his tenure to be anything but a hapless one. When the 44-year-old actor was first announced to take on the caped crusader, he faced early criticisms with an undeterred enthusiasm for the role, going so far as to sign on to write, direct and star in the character’s standalone film. To his credit, his performance in the ill-fated Batman V. Superman was an admirable one, and to most, an unexpected bright spot of the film. Unfortunately, distractors wound up eating their words for a much shorter time than the veteran likely hoped for as the future of the DCEU found the star at the center of many of its controversies.
Reports declaring Affleck's apprehension regarding his place in the burgeoning franchise shadowed his well-received performance, resulting in the actor stepping down as director of the upcoming The Batman . Matt Reeves took over and, as recently as this week, completely scraped Affleck’s script. The Hollywood Reporter as well as several insiders are fairly confident that Warner Bros. plan to “gracefully” usher Batfleck out of the DC cinematic universe, citing his age and lack of commitment as a driving factor, and the search is rumored to be on for a new younger actor to take the reigns.
The kind of narrative and commercial success garnered by Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman was an indication that the DCEU made a conscious decision to shed many of the clunky Goyer-isms that plagued the venture from the get-go. Still, the DC franchise seems beholden to the idea that Batman has to be the adhesive that keeps the film series together.
Look, I get it, Batman is cool — a gothic realization of the adolescent power fantasy; a billionaire playboy that spends his daytime in the company of supermodels to conceal a nightlife that includes beating the living shit out of the mentally disturbed with the power of gadgets and kung fu. He’s a detective, he’s got a neat car, the face of Don Draper with the tragic backstory of Walter White — he’s everything a superhero is supposed to be with the best rogues gallery the genre has to offer, but he’s in dire need of a rest and you know it just as well as I do.
Warner Bros. should keep Affleck as the DCEU’s Batman, have him step in for the Justice League films, maybe the occasional solo outing, but for the most part, let the universe find its voice without him. Don’t tie Batman in too heavily with the major arcs and don’t let him be the deus ex machina he is in the comics. Instead, it’s time to utilize the Bat Family (specifically Nightwing, a character that is begging for some silver screen lovin’), but largely steer clear of the hallmarks commonly associated with the character and his world.
Whedon and Johns should focus their energy on establishing a Superman we actually like, solidifying Wonder Woman as the moral backbone of the Justice League, and reminding audiences that Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen are two of the coolest creations ever put to panel.
Earlier this year, Lego Batman did a masterful job sending up this country’s tired obsession with Bob Kane’s opus whilst acknowledging why the character resonates with it so profoundly. A world inspired by DC comics is absolutely incomplete without Batman, though I contend this one in particular could benefit from the Dark Knight taking a backseat. There’s a plethora of characters that general movie going audiences haven’t been introduced to that could stand in for the bad ass martial arts touting vigilante, from the aforementioned Nightwing to Black Canary, or optimistically, even Huntress.
I, unlike most, admire many of the decisions that structured the DCEU (that includes Superman’s death and a Batman that has become perverted by the death of Robin and the fight for Gotham) and feel that it should continue to strive to subvert expectations. They’ve got a lot of material to pull from and would do well to let the world’s greatest detective sit out a few plays.
