Ben Affleck’s Canceled Batman Movie: What Went Wrong & What We Know About It
Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie remains a fascinating chapter of the DCEU, albeit an unmade one. Ben Affleck debuted as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and though the film itself saw a very split reception, Affleck’s portrayal of the Dark Knight was nonetheless well received. Unfortunately, that divisive reception to Batman v Superman led to Warner Bros. making significant changes to the then-upcoming Justice League, which then played a role in Affleck walking away from his planned Batman movie.
Despite WB’s abandonment of Snyder’s overarching plan for the DCEU, interest remains high in both his planned Justice League sequels and Affleck’s Batman film, with calls of #RestoreTheSnyderVerse remaining a constant of social media. More recently, some new revelations have been made about the story of Affleck’s Batman film by storyboard artist Jay Oliva. Combined with the details provided by Oliva, other previously revealed elements offer a big picture of what Affleck was going for. Here is everything that is known about Ben Affleck’s unproduced Batman movie and why it did not happen.
Why Ben Affleck’s Batman Movie Was Canceled
No single factor is solely behind Affleck’s Batman movie not being realized, with numerous factors playing into it at once. Following Zack Snyder’s departure from the film due to a family tragedy, the last-minute revamping of Justice League took the movie far off course from the Batman arc that Affleck had signed up for. This included the movie’s scene of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) meeting Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello), which was changed to the two forming the Legion of Doom, as opposed to its original intent of Lex hiring Deathstroke to take out Batman, setting up Affleck’s movie (eventually one of many differences seen in the Snyder Cut).
These changes led to Affleck’s dissatisfaction with the behind-the-scenes situation of DC’s on film management by Warner Bros., and played into him leaving the role. Additionally, Affleck was also dealing with numerous struggles in his personal life at the time, including his battle with alcoholism. All of these factors together ultimately led to Affleck’s Batman movie not moving forward.
Timeline Of Events Surrounding Ben Affleck’s Batman Movie
Affleck’s Batman film came about after he had boarded Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Affleck intending to make the film after completing work on Justice League. Affleck’s script was set to be titled The Batman, with Affleck writing the film with contributions by both Geoff Johns and Chris Terrio. In late 2016, Affleck’s language about his Batman film grew noticeably more tentative, Affleck insisting repeatedly that he would not make the film without a script that he was satisfied with.
Affleck then ultimately stepped down from directing The Batman in early 2017, with Matt Reeves coming aboard as director. Around that time was when rumors of Affleck’s displeasure with the situation behind-the-scenes began to emerge, along with rumors that Justice League was headed for major reshoots ahead of its November 2017 release. Despite persistent denials of any behind-the-scenes turmoil by WB, Justice League was indeed released as an extensively reworked film that year, which famously led to calls for the Snyder Cut.
What Ben Affleck’s Batman Movie Was About
Affleck’s Batman movie was intended to act as an interquel between Justice League and Justice League 2, with the Dark Knight battling Slade Wilson in a harrowing showdown. Per Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello, Affleck’s Batman story was influenced by David Fincher’s The Game, with Deathstroke methodically taking Bruce Wayne’s life apart and killing those closest to him. Batgirl would also be a supporting character and become an ally to Batman in the film. Additionally, Oliva revealed that Affleck’s Batman movie was “building off of storylines in the Batman mythos over the last 80 years and approaching it from a new kind of perspective.”
Affleck’s Batman story also curiously resembles elements of the Daredevil comic book story Born Again, in which Matt Murdock’s life is reduced to shambles before he heads into a final showdown with the Kingpin. With Affleck having famously played the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen in 2003’s Daredevil movie and having expressed his dissatisfaction with the movie, his Batman film might have also been a kind of Daredevil do-over with the Caped Crusader by Affleck. Meanwhile, Affleck’s Batman film would have also pitted Bruce Wayne against one of the most challenging enemies he would ever face on the big screen.
