‘The Dark Knight Returns’ Director Calls Ben Affleck’s ‘The Batman’ Script the Best Batman Script He’s Ever Read

If one popular narrative of DC’s movie universe has so far been that of unrealized potential, then apparently that story will continue for now, as one of Zack Snyder’s insiders has nothing but high praise for Ben Affleck’s The Batman script which fans will likely never see.

That would be Jay Oliva, who worked on storyboard art for Snyder and has a long history with DC animated projects, including Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

“The original Affleck script was the best Batman script I’ve ever read,” Oliva told a film blogger who said on Twitter that Affleck had never fully worked out his story. “Ben had a kick ass story and I believe that the audience and fans would have loved it.”

Oliva has captured fans’ attention in recent months by bucking the conventional wisdom on the DC films, praising the work done by Zack Snyder and repeatedly saying that there is such thing as a “Snyder Cut” of Justice League.

When Affleck, fresh off a Best Picture win for Argo, was cast in the role of Batman for Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the assumption was that both Affleck and Warner Bros. wanted to see him star and direct in the next Batman solo film. That turned out to be the case, but after Batman v Superman stumbled with critics, Affleck pulled out of directing The Batman in favor of Planet of the Apes veteran Matt Reeves. Almost immediately, reports came out that Affleck’s script would be tossed out and a new story would be drafted that would likely focus on a younger Batman who would almost certainly not be played by Affleck.

After that, Justice League hit theaters and was both a critical and financial disappointment, and since then, Affleck’s status as Batman has been up in the air. The most recent wrinkle in the saga involves Affleck’s personal life: after being readmitted into rehab, it has been speculated that bonding him to play the lead role in a $200 million movie might be too expensive to manage.

Plot details on the project remain under wraps. When most recently commenting on the direction of his DCEU entry, Reeves characterized his film as noir-driven detective story not based on Batman origin tale Year One or any particular comic book story.

Warner Bros. has yet to stake a release date for The Batman.