Back in July, just before Comic Con, a report surfaced that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star Ben Affleck had signed on to direct and star in an Untitled Batman Reboot, with the actor/filmmaker also set to co-write the script with Geoff Johns. While Warner Bros. hasn't officially set a release date yet, the actor/filmmaker confirmed earlier this month that the Batman reboot is in development, but he isn't quite ready to take on that project yet. DC All Access managed to catch up with Ben Affleck, who confirmed he's working on "something" with Geoff Johnsthat he's really excited about.
"Geoff Johns is a brilliant guy. I consider him to be the most valued resource on all things comic book. And every time I like something in a comic I mention, he goes, 'Oh yeah, I wrote that.' Now I just think he's bullshitting me, because he says he wrote everything. He and I are working together on something and I really am excited about it and I love him. He's the best."
We first heard about this reboot shortly after Warner Bros. screened a "near finished cut" of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for the film's crew and studio executives, which was reportedly met with a standing ovation once the credits rolled. This report claims the studio was so impressed with Ben Affleck's performance that they are working out an extended deal with the actor that would lock him in as Batman "for the next 10 years or so." Studio executives reportedly consider the actor as "the definitive Batman," and plan on centering their entire DC movie universe around his character. During a press conference for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck was asked if he'd ever consider directing a DC movie. He didn't specifically mention the Untitled Batman Reboot, though he did talk about how much he learned from director Zack Snyder and writer Chris Terrio.
"Sure, I would. For me, as a director, it's about the material and the characters, so if I found the right material, I would definitely throw my hat in the ring to direct something on this scale. I'm definitely bolder now, certainly having learned from and watched Zack and Chris put this movie together. One of the really valuable things about it for me, aside from the personal experience of playing the part, was watching a guy who really understands how to make films on this level - with cutting edge technology, combining in camera stuff with visual effects and stunts and practical effects and all the tools at a director's disposal and seeing how Zack sort of meticulously constructed that using literally hand-drawn story-boards, frame by frame and evolving those into the movie that you saw, with a consistent vision. I wondered about directing movies like this before and it was really a very valuable learning experience for me to watch Zack do it and see how he did it, so I felt like, you know, if that day did come, I'd definitely pick up a lot of valuable information."
Ben Affleck is currently directing Live by Night, scheduled for release on October 20, 2017. The actor will likely then transition right over to filming Justice League Part 1, which starts production in the U.K. on April 11. Hopefully we'll hear more about the Untitled Batman Rebootafter Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters this weekend. Take a look at this week's episode of DC All Access, and you can skip to the 3:49 mark for Ben Affleck's comments.
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