The Dark Knight has had a long history of success in both television and movies, and now following the rumors he’s set to make his big screen return in “The Batman”. It will be one of the newest installments of upcoming solo features in the cinematic universe of DC superheroes and villains. This film has had some issues already trying to jump start productions, with Ben Affleck entering and exiting the lead role over and over again. Recent reports though have suggested that Affleck is still interested in reprising his role.
Affleck was initially set to direct and write the standalone movie, in addition to starring in it. But he decided to vacate the roles after the project reportedly ran into some problems in the development stage. Now “Cloverfield” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” filmmaker Matt Reeves will take over as writer and director. “The Batman” like always will be fitted with an allstar cast, with Jeremy Irons expected to reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth, along with J.K. Simmons returning as Commissioner James Gordon. Joe Manganiello will play the film’s villain, the mercenary known as Deathstroke. I’m hoping with any luck we might see Jared Leto and Margot Robbie show up as The Joker and Harley Quinn, but nothing has been spoken about at this point.
Director Matt Reeves did reveal that “The Batman” won’t be part of the DC Extended Universe, meaning “The Batman” will operate as a standalone film and won’t be heavily influenced by the other DC franchises.
It seems ever since Christian Bale’s departure from “The Dark Knight” trilogies any kind of reboot or revamp was destined to come with complications or failures. When the project was announced back in 2014, it eventually became “The Batman” and initially had Affleck attached to direct, produce, co-write and star in the film, sharing script duties with longtime DC Comics author and DC Films co-chairman Geoff Johns. All seemed on track until the first reactions emerged from “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (in which Affleck made his debut as Batman) and in began the multitude of negative comments. This ultimately lead to Afflecks departure from the directors chair.
Deathsroke’s inception into the film follows Affleck, who was still the director on the film at that time, posted a video on Twitter featuring an unknown actor in costume as Slade Wilson, the lethal DC Comics mercenary. After the video was posted onto twitter Geoff Johns confirmed that Deathstroke would indeed be the villain of Batman’s solo movie. He also confirmed the identity of the actor, Joe Manganiello.
As for the story we know it would be different from any stories explored in the previous seven Batman films, but most likely will come down to an eventual Batman vs Joker battle. There’s little chance we’ll see comparisons to iconic representations like Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie or Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. My only hope is this franchise doesn’t go from epic to catastrophic.
