Fans Rejoice As Ben Affleck Has ‘Complete Creative Control’ On Solo ‘Batman’ Film, Not Zack Snyder

With more than $850 million at the worldwide box office, it’s hard to say that Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is a failure. Yes, many thought it would make more money than that, but it’s a great start in the true DCEU franchise. A lot of fans think that the biggest problem is Zack Snyder, and they have petitioned to have him removed from the Justice League film. Well, they will at least be happy to know that the solo Batman film won’t be in his hands.

It will be in those of Ben Affleck.

According to Heroic Hollywood, it is now rumored that both Affleck and DC Extended Universe COO Geoff Johns are going to have “complete creative control” on the solo Batman film. That would mean any major decisions on the casting, direction, and storyline would go through either one of them before happening on-screen.

It is now rumored, as stated by ComicBook.com, that this new information does mean that the solo Batman movie will be written by Affleck and Johns. It’s going to obviously star Affleck as the Caped Crusader and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne. There is also talk that Affleck is going to step in as the director of the film as well.

Chances are, Zack Snyder won’t really have much to do with the movie at all, but it’s likely that he’ll come on board as a producer of some sort.

If this news ends up being true, it is really not a bad idea on the part of Warner Bros. Affleck has won Academy Awards as a writer (Good Will Hunting) and producer (Argo). He’s won a Golden Globe for directing (Argo), and has won numerous awards for his acting.

Warner Bros. isn’t stupid and putting him in charge of making his own film is exactly what needed to be done. Having Johns work on it with him means that all the DC aspects of things will be historically accurate.

They have the talent so they’re going to use it. There’s no sense in having another voice chime in.

As of now, the solo Batman movie is in development, but there’s no real date as to when it will start production or could even be released.

The DCEU has a lot of movies on the schedule over the course of the next four years, and many are already in place. It’s going to continue past that, but getting a solo Batman movie in place is going to need to take a big step forward since Affleck isn’t getting any younger.

2016

August 5: Suicide Squad

2017

February 20: The LEGO Batman Movie
June 2: Wonder Woman
November 17: Justice League, Part 1

2018

March 16: The Flash
July 27: Aquaman
October 5: Untitled DCEU film

2019

April 5: Shazam
June 14: Justice League, Part 2
November 1: Untitled DCEU Film

So, that pretty much leaves October of 2018 or November of 2019 for the solo Batman film to be released in theaters. The year 2018 may really be pushing it since the film hasn’t even officially entered preproduction yet, but 2019 does seem extremely feasible.

The only problem there is that it would mean Batman getting his own film after both parts of Justice League had already been released and passed.

A solo Batman movie is something truly positive that came out of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it’s what fans were hoping would happen. The only thing they wanted is for someone other than Zack Snyder to be in charge of it. With Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns getting creative control over it, that will likely appease many and give them renewed hope for the DC Extended Universe and its future.

[Image via Warner Bros.]