Affleck’s Batman Movie In Trouble Already? New Rumor About ‘The Batman’ Should Make DC Movie Fans Nervous
Ben Affleck’s Batman turned out to be generally acknowledged as one of the best parts – if not the best part outright – of this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and comic book movie fans have been looking forward to Affleck’s growling take on the Dark Knight ever since. Now there’s a rumor making the rounds that could give DC movie fans pause, and its central, most disturbing elements include the words “We don’t care.”
This past weekend, io9 pointed to a snippet of a larger interview from The Ringer with American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis. The overall interview was Ellis talking about the general state of moviemaking in Hollywood and how the studio system is broken, and Ellis casually brought up The Batman, Warner Bros’ forthcoming Batman solo flick starring Ben Affleck.
There’s been a good deal of behind-the-scenes buzz about Affleck’s Batman movie, as Affleck is expected not only to star in it but to direct it. That’s gotten fans pretty excited, but if Ellis’ initial comments on The Batman are to be believed, that excitement may be a bit premature.
“I was having dinner with a couple of executives who know other executives who are working on the [forthcoming] Batman movie, The Batman. And they were just telling me that there are serious problems with the script. And that the executives I was having dinner with were complaining about people who work on the Batman movie. And 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.’ So I do think global concerns play a big part in how movies, and what movies, are being made, obviously.”
Ouch. io9 reportedly reached out to Warner Bros for comment, but there was no response from the studio. For his part, Ellis has already largely walked back his statement, saying that he doesn’t know anyone directly involved with The Batman. Ellis’ defense, essentially, is that the problems with The Batman were essentially hearsay.
https://t.co/4mHqtwTZzw pic.twitter.com/J6Pc4LxHKy
— Bret Easton Ellis (@BretEastonEllis) November 4, 2016
Ellis’ initial comments on The Batman would seem to dovetail nicely with concerns that many have expressed about Warner Bros’ DC universe movies. While Marvel has seen hit after hit with its cash cow suite of movies, as well as a good deal of critical praise for many of its offerings, the DC cinematic universe, while profitable, has yet to see much in the way of critical praise. Movies such as Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad have seen middling reviews, and that bad word of mouth, some argue, is largely responsible for their relative underperformance at the box office.
“We’re currently writing the Batman script but it’s not ready yet.”
Journalists: “BEN AFFLECK HIMSELF SAID HIS BATMAN SCRIPT HAS PROBLEMS!1” pic.twitter.com/nEu0t5UZEG— ??? (@LegolasWayne) November 4, 2016
With Affleck’s celebrated performance in Batman v Superman, as well as his already established critical bona fides as a director, The Batman was supposed to be a sure thing. Affleck has said all the right things regarding getting the script of the movie right before moving into production, but if Ellis’ now-mostly-retracted statement was indeed based in fact and wasn’t just hearsay, that doesn’t bode well for Warner Bros’ commitment to excellence regarding The Batman.
What do you think? Are you worried about Ben Affleck’s Batman movie? Do you think Warner Bros has what it takes to put out a quality superhero movie, or are they just content to make money no matter if there are problems with the script.
[Featured Image by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images]
