Ben Affleck appeared at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 on Saturday as not only the actor portraying Batman in the latest string of DC films but also as the director of the next standalone Batman movie. Affleck, of course, played Batman in this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will be seen in the role again in the upcoming Suicide Squad and next’s year’s Justice League .
Speaking of which, some new footage from Justice League also appeared at Comic-Con, complete with Ben Affleck. Check it out below.
The trailer for the forthcoming Wonder Woman movie also debuted at Comic-Con.
Yes, there’s a lot happening in the DC screen universe. Don’t forget about James Wan’s Aquaman either. The Saw director, who has earned himself a reputation as a modern-day master of horror, most recently with The Conjuring 2 , told Comic-Con attendees that he’ll be bringing some horror to Aquaman as well.
Slash Film quotes him as saying, “The opportunity to explore this universe and bring a bit of my horror element to this, the deep sea, the scary world, and of course the wondrous world of Atlantis.”
At the event, it was confirmed that Ben Affleck will helm the next Batman movie .
The Los Angeles Times reports,” After months of speculation, Warner Bros. has confirmed that Ben Affleck will both star in and direct the next standalone Batman movie. The studio did not make a splashy announcement about the news at its Comic-Con presentation on Saturday. Instead, panel moderator Conan O’Brien simply introduced the actor as “the director of ‘Batman,’ Ben Affleck” before he walked on stage. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. teased the idea that Affleck might be directing the next film about the superhero, with studio head Kevin Tsujihara referring to him as one of the filmmakers in the DC Comics universe.”
At Comic-Con, Ben Affleck excitedly took a picture of the crowd of 6,500 fans he addressed. He posted the image on Twitter.
What a view at #sdcc . Shout out to all the DC Universe fans! #JusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/iJqzC7FLKb
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) July 23, 2016
USA Today shares a couple of quotes from the moment .
“This is kind of nerdy, but this is a big deal in my life,” said the star of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . This is never going to happen again.”
It drew a quippy retort from moderator Conan O’Brien: “I think this may happen for you again.”
With acclaimed films like Argo , Gone Baby Gone , and The Town , Ben Affleck has proven himself on more than one occasion to be a more than capable filmmaker, and it will be interesting to see how the iconic Batman character is realized through his vision. In fact, some might say that Affleck gets more respect as a director than he does as an actor, though many found his portrayal of Batman to be a highlight of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .
#ComicCon #NeverMissHallH #JusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/yCtX0GOFmh
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) July 23, 2016
With the Christopher Nolan era of Batman over (this included Batman Begins , The Dark Knight , and The Dark Knight Rises ), a new era of Batman is upon us, and Ben Affleck is perhaps more involved than any actor to ever have played the part.
While it has little to do with the Justice League franchise at hand, it’s interesting to note that in a way, Ben Affleck has not only played Batman but also Superman. The actor starred as George Reeves in 2006’s Hollywoodland , which told the story of the actor who portrayed the superhero in TV’s The Adventure of Superman . Affleck’s connection to the world of superheroes doesn’t end there, however. He also portrayed Matt Murdock of the Marvel universe in 2003’s Daredevil .
What do you think of Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Batman so far? Do you think he’ll make a good addition to the superhero’s legacy with his own Batman film? Let us know what you think in the comments.
[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]