DC Studios’ future is looking pretty bright with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm, and they have already revealed a brand new movie slate that will also introduce us to a new Batman who will also have a Robin in The Brave and the Bold. Gunn and Safran also confirmed that it will be a new actor as the character, meaning that Ben Affleck will definitely be retiring his cape and cowl, and some people are reflecting on what could have been if the actor had indeed directed and starred in The Batman. Before Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson became attached to the project, Affleck was going to direct and star in the film that was going to see Batman potentially take on Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke until the actor and director decided to drop out of the project. Since then, we have only heard stories about how good Affleck’s script was, and now one artist is gushing about the shelved film. In a new interview with Inverse, DC alumni Jay Oliva revealed that Affleck’s The Batman would have built upon 80 years of Batman stories.
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“I can’t really say too much other than it was fucking awesome,” Oliva tells Inverse. “It was the best. It was amazing. “From my understanding, there were a couple of drafts of it. When I was brought on, I don’t know whether it was the second draft or something, but it was what Geoff Johns and Ben [Affleck] had shown me.
“I’ve worked on a lot of Batman things and what was really cool about it was, it was tying together a lot of really cool Batman storylines that had never been really explored. Ben’s story was gonna cover something that had never really been covered in comics but was building off of storylines in the Batman mythos over the last 80 years and approaching it from a new kind of perspective. It was very clever and there were a lot of things about it that I really loved that I wish that had come to fruition. It was a really great project in the beginning. Ben had to step away for personal reasons, and I totally understood, but the time that I spent with Ben working on the project was fantastic. Maybe someday I can spill the beans, but I still can’t talk about it.”
Matt Reeves Says Ben Affleck’s Version The Batman Could’ve Been Exciting
Reeves previously detailed what he knew about Affleck’s Batman movie, and it actually sounds very interesting. But Affleck’s waning interest in playing the character ultimately forced him to exit the film, and the role that would eventually go to Pattinson would become a different project entirely.
“The movie was originally going to be directed by Ben Affleck, and the script they sent me had been written by Ben but rewritten by another very talented writer, and when I read it, I was like, ‘Oh, I get it,’” Reeves previously explained. “It was a standalone Batman film that was centered on Ben’s version of the character, but it was more action-driven than what I felt I could do. I didn’t connect to the movie-in terms of me as a filmmaker. It was very James Bond-ian; it was filled with a lot of set pieces. It could have been a very exciting movie for someone else to do, but it wasn’t for me to do.”
“Interestingly, I think Ben wasn’t so sure he wanted to it because he ultimately stepped away from doing Batman all together … Probably because of the choices in his life at that time and what he wanted to do.” The Batman director added.
Ben Affleck Says The Flash is His Best Batman Performance
Affleck’s most recent and final appearance as Batman was actually in The Flash movie, and before it hit theaters, he accidentally spoiled the fact that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was in the film and even hyped up his appearance as Batman. During a recent appearance on a podcast, Affleck claimed that The Flash features his best performance as Batman.
“It’s my best s–t I have done as Batman! I finally figured out how to play the guy! I know I quit but I got it now! Like you do the audition and you are on your way home, you are like ‘No!’ I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but there was a scene where I get saved by Wonder Woman during a conflagration with some bad guys,” Affleck previously revealed. “She saves me with the Lasso of Truth, so what happens is that Batman divulges some of his real feelings about his life and his work. I was like ‘Wait a minute; I got it!”
The Flash is currently available to buy on video on demand and digital download. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more updates on Ben Affleck’s future as Batman and the character in general as we learn it.
What do you think about Joe Quesada’s comments? Wild you have been excited to see Ben Affleck’s Batman movie? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!
