‘The Batman’ In Flux – Here’s What We Know So Far

By now if you’re a superhero nerd like me, you’ve heard that Ben Affleck is no longer directing The Batman movie, citing his inability to juggle the demands of a helming a massive blockbuster whilst also acting in said blockbuster. Which is fair enough if you ask me. But since that news, a raft of other tidbits about the film have come to light, and here I’ve gathered them all into one helpful post, cause I know you’re all very busy people!


So, Affleck is out of the director’s chair, and after much back and forthMatt Reeves (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Cloverfield) has signed on to direct the movie, saying this:

“I have loved the Batman story since I was a child. He is such an iconic and compelling character, and one that resonates with me deeply. I am incredibly honored and excited to be working with Warner Bros. to bring an epic and emotional new take on the Caped Crusader to the big screen.”

Seeing as though Reeves’ next film, the Dawn sequel War For The Planet Of The Apes is still in post-production, he won’t be free to start work on the Caped Crusader until at least June, which knocks the movie out of contention for a 2018 release, with a 2019 unveiling more likely.


Then there was the rumour and a lot of hand-wringing over the idea that Affleck wanted out of being the Dark Knight altogether, which sent many a movie writer spiralling into despair about the broken DC Extended Universe and what this would mean for Justice League and Reeves’ BatmanAs quickly as it started, that rumour was put to bed by Affleck himself, who tweeted his congratulations to his new director:


Even more news came about in quick succession, with the word that the entire The Batman script was being rewritten from page one. This particular tidbit seemed a bit hard to swallow, considering that Ben Affleck himself had a hand in writing it, with new DCEU maestro Geoff Johns. But as the blogosphere is wont to do, the rumour abounded and was picked up all over the place.

As per Forbes:

How extensive the process will be — I’m hearing anything from “major rewrites” to “a completely new script,” including starting from scratch on the story if that’s what it takes — is unclear, not just to us but probably to those involved as well, since the new filmmaker might look at the story and script and decide there’s plenty to salvage that appeals to them. Once the director is in place, more will become clear, but for now Warner Bros. is suffering far more negative perceptions than they need to, simply because of the attempt to slow and control the spread of information.

Just like the Batfleck rumour, this one has seemingly been debunked as well, with Variety reporter Justin Kroll tweeting this:

The plot thickens. I will say that whatever version of the script they end up going with, I hope to god they don’t decide that we need to see Batman’s fucking origin story again. We’ve now seen many different versions of the Wayne parents dying and young Bruce falling down into a bat cave. Enough already, just give us some new Dark Knight adventures!


Which brings us to the latest bit of news, which is really just a cascading of all the previous news onto one poor man’s head, Joe Manganiello. He was previously announced as playing the villain Deathstroke in Affleck’s rendition of the film, but with him now just donning the suit and nothing more, Reeves not having taken proper control as of yet, and possible rewrites happening, the whole basis for Manganiello’s casting seems to be on shaky ground.

Even the actor himself doesn’t seem to know if he’s in the movie. Speaking to Pittsburgh Today Live on the promotional trial for Smurfs: The Lost Village, the actor was at a loss:

So hopefully there’s some clarity for poor Joe soon. Personally, I like that they’re going with a villain that we haven’t seen before in the Batman movies, and I hope he survives this round of turmoil.


There, you’re all caught up. What say you fellow superhero nerds? What are your thoughts on all The Batman turmoil? Sound of in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

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