When Batman Vs Superman got announced by Warner Brothers, you knew the role of the Dark Knight would be one of the most coveted in Hollywood. There was speculation that Christian Bale could write his own check to come back and play Batman to the tune of $50 million, but this was just speculation. Josh Brolin was also reportedly in the running, but now there is indeed a new Batman, and it’s Ben Affleck. There’s also a release date announced by Warner Brothers for July 17, 2015.
This news is somewhat ironic because there were reports Affleck was going to direct Justice League, and those reports were quickly squelched. As for the choice of Affleck playing Batman, we’re not sure if this is the right decision, just as we’re not exactly excited about a Batman Vs Superman movie in the wake of Man of Steel.
You may recall Affleck played Daredevil back in 2002, and that didn’t go particularly well. We’re also not sure if he’s the right guy to play Batman. Whether you like him or hate him, Affleck just doesn’t strike us as superhero material.
At the same time, we don’t think playing Batman will be a step back for him now that he’s won the Academy Award again for Argo. Affleck’s worked very hard to be taken seriously after becoming a joke in Hollywood, and he’s done a very good job of turning his perception around in the wake of JLo and Gigli.
So a very misguided concept is finally going forward, and if it turns out to be a disaster, it would really be a shame because Christopher Nolan did a great job resurrecting Batman, and Man of Steel proved that Superman has been very hard to resurrect from the Christopher Reeve glory days. The big problem here is there’s too much potential to screw Batman up after he was finally resurrected, there’s also too much potential to make things even worse for Superman, who’s still struggling to reinvent himself for today’s generation.
