It's a challenging time for Batman fans. Coming off of Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight trilogy, the devoted Batfans were on cloud nine. Things had never been better, could never be better. We had the Batman films we had always dreamed of and cultural love for the character was at an all time high. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is what could go wrong. While not as bad as Schumacher's Batfilms, Snyder's movie was an abject mess. It was overly long, incredibly dour, poorly written/edited and contained a performance from Jesse Eisenberg that should send him to The Hague.
There was a bright spot in BvS though. Ben Affleck's Batman was pretty damn good. Affleck played an older, burnt out and rough-around-the-edges Bruce Wayne. He was a man who had been dressing as a bat for too long and had lost much of his humanity. Affleck, who has always been talented despite some bad choices, really delivered. The dialogue was often atrocious but he sold it and he made Batman interesting and real. The movie was a trash fire but Affleck brought the goods.
My hair wouldn't look that good after being under a cowl
That's why it's such a bummer to hear he might not actually play Batman again after the upcoming Justice League films. Rumors have been flying that he wants out and WB is figuring a way to make that happen. He denied this like crazy at Comic-Con, saying how happy he was to be in Matt Reeves's take on the character. But remember that he repeatedly denied that he wouldn't direct the film too. See how that turned out? There's still a high likelihood that Affleck is flying out of the Batcave soon.
That's a shame. That's a big shame. And it's not so much because of Ben Affleck himself. Instead, it's more about what Ben Affleck stands for. Or, rather, what his Bruce Wayne stands for.
You see, despite all its flaws (and there are many. So many. God, so many.) Batman V Superman was trying something slightly new for a cinematic Batman. This was a grizzled, aged Bats, one who had lost practically all love for the world around him. He was emotionally scarred, just as much as he was all those years ago when his parents were gunned down. He was graying, he was angry, selfish and, frankly, he wasn't very heroic. So say what you want about Batman V Superman (go ahead, I can wait) it did Batman right. Except for the fact that he deliberately killed people in the film. But that's a different qualm for a different day.
Of course Zack Snyder's Batman wasn't new if you're a fan of comics. I don't have to tell you that this older, pissed-off Batman became a comics touchstone in the 80s thanks to older, pissed-off writer Frank Miller. Looking at the Caped Crusader in this different light was one of the smartest moves in comics history. It took a decades old character and examined him in a new way, exposed his failings and all-too-human flaws. It took years for a movie to broach that idea but it finally started to happen in BvS and would continue in Matt Reeves's film. Or so we assumed.
If Affleck goes, we will lose a great actor. That'll suck. But there is also a risk that if he drops the film, Warner Bros will decide to pivot the character and saddle Reeves with a younger actor who will be able to sign a hefty contract and turn in a new film every couple years. Affleck will be nearly 50 when his first Batman film hits. Don't doubt that WB might trash the whole older Batman angle and just get someone a couple decades younger. Hell, Harry Styles is having a good week after Dunkirk...
I just shuddered too.
I hope we don't lose Affleck. He was putting something special together in BvS and I was looking forward to him diving even deeper into the character, especially in the hands of such a talented director like Reeves. But if he goes, he goes. However, I hope that WB and DC don't see this as an opportunity to squander what Snyder and Affleck started. I don't want them turning back the clock and giving us yet another young Batman. We have seen that many times before. It's time for something different and something new. In this case, old is new.