Ben Affleck IS Bruce Wayne/Batman - Part 1

[TheVileOne]

That all came from Mark Hughes' article over at Forbes where he was basically thinking out loud about some sources he refused to listen to, so it was basically stemming from nothing. Of course, it manifests into rumors on clickbait sites of Affleck leaving entirely. Unfortunately, everything Ben said about still being onboard (directing) and excited to focus entirely on bringing The Batman to life is going to be met with moans because just last week, Affleck talked about how everything was a go, so, who knows what the real intentions and stories are that are mounting about Affleck.

What should the fans believe? A while ago, everyone was supposed to shut up because Affleck was on Kimmel, and he was still doing it, that would be his next film. Well that's no longer the case.

Mark Hughes also said he heard things several weeks earlier saying that Affleck was basically going to drop out.

 

[KillerWolf]

But, wait, hold on, I'm not entirely convinced that behind the scenes drama is the reason he dropped out. Call me naive but I'm taking Affleck's words at face value. Isnt it possible that he realized, "s***, this is gonna be a near insurmountable task for me, I wanna do this, but can I juggle this many balls without ****ing it up?" Especially in light of Live By Night, Affleck's gotta be feeling a little defeated inside and may just not have the mental amd physical energy to write, direct AND star in another film, one thats gonna have a big budget and featuring a character so many people are attached to.

He said it himself in one of his many off the cuff interviews (im paraphrasing) " making a mediocre Batman movie is not an option." I think Affleck just maybe realized that its better for the film if he is not under all this pressure and he can focus on just being an amazing Batman. I dont necessarily believe that him dropping out is a result of heated behind the scenes arguments with the suits. If that did happen, I think he'd just peace out all together.

And he said on several occasions that he'll have to work out directing and acting in such a demanding role. I think it's pretty clear he realized it was too demanding or even impossible to do it like he wanted to.

 

[Jekecy]

This doesn't take over a year to realize, guys. If it was a late realization, it's only against a particular time table set for him by WB. Otherwise every party is a moron for not fully preparing for this.

Under what circumstances is signing up for producing, acting, writing, AND directing not superbly obvious from the get-go that it's an immense task? That alone was my #1 reason why I did not predict Ben to take on the directorial job for the movie, way back when he was cast. So when him and WB finally got the ball rolling and presented him out with the other directors at Comic Con, I thought....ok cool, they actually figured out the logistics of this and sorted out all the kinks.

Guess not.

 

[Tra-El]

What should the fans believe?

The process of 'wait and see.'

..that's no longer the case.

Well, obviously.

Mark Hughes also said he heard things several weeks earlier saying that Affleck was basically going to drop out.

He heard some whisper's about it, but like many here, just chose to take Affleck's word for it and believe what he was saying at face value. There's a reason why divisiveness is so thick around these parts lol.

 

[Saint]

Ben said more than once that he'd direct as long as the script was good--now that he's not directing, it sort of begs the question of whether the script was a factor. It wouldn't be fair to assume anything dire at this point, but official statements made in these situations aren't always precisely true.

It bites that he's not directing: it was one of the few things in the DCEU I had legitimate enthusiasm about. That said, there are plenty of equally good (or better) choices. I hope WB finds such a choice and affords them the license to make a good movie.

I would hate for The Batman to turn out like BVS, frankly (and I don't say that as a slight against anyone who enjoyed it; it's just that I did not).

 

[KillerWolf]

Which was always a strange sentence to me, as he wrote the script, didn't he? I mean, if you're not happy with your own script, then fix it until you are. This doesn't make much sense:

"I'm stepping out as a director, because script writer wrote a piece of **** I can't work with."

"Who's a script writer?"

"Me."

 

[Tra-El]

It was probably a mixture of everything. Usually when these things are decided upon, especially when the studio is involved to extreme extents of leaving the director's chair, there's usually more than one thing at play.

Honestly, I just think it's timing more than anything. The studio obviously wants to set The Batman up to fit on a timeline and slate and that requires an intense amount of readiness. With Affleck's fallout of Live By Night and the pressure's of perfecting a script, it just wasn't lining up. With Affleck dropping out, it will give more breathing room for the Batman to keep all parties happy. Ben can take some time, maybe work on the script and delegate control onto others while the studio sets their sights on somebody who can really buckle down without having any extra baggage or reluctant'ness that Affleck brings. It's messy now, but a move that could end up benefiting the project in the longterm and more importantly, the fanbase.

 

[KillerWolf]

It was probably a mixture of everything. Usually when these things are decided upon, especially when the studio is involved to extreme extents of leaving the director's chair, there's usually more than one thing at play.

Honestly, I just think it's timing more than anything. The studio obviously wants to set The Batman up to fit on a timeline and slate and that requires an intense amount of readiness. With Affleck's fallout of Live By Night and the pressure's of perfecting a script, it just wasn't lining up. With Affleck dropping out, it will give more breathing room for the Batman to keep all parties happy. Ben can take some time, maybe work on the script and delegate control onto others while the studio sets their sights on somebody who can really buckle down without having any extra baggage or reluctant'ness that Affleck brings. It's messy now, but a move that could end up benefiting the project in the longterm and more importantly, the fanbase.

I agree with this assessment.

And I also believe they either didn't think it through that well or have thought they found a way for Affleck to manage both directing and acting, but figured it couldn't be done after all, whether after being faced with the actual script or coming upon that realization via further planning and discussions at pre-production stage.

As I said in another thread, I'd much rather they bring someone else to direct than have Affleck be burned-out in the middle of production. I was never easy with this idea of him doing it both.

 

[J.Drangal]

^ Everything I wanted to say.
This decision afford WB to move forward the production with another director, deleting some pressure on Affleck's shoulders and giving him extra-time to work on the script. Sure it feels like bad press, but it could be for the best.
...
Yep, I just repeat what you said... Usual SHH forum stuff aha.

 

[Mrs. Wayne]

Ben said more than once that he'd direct as long as the script was good--now that he's not directing, it sort of begs the question of whether the script was a factor. It wouldn't be fair to assume anything dire at this point, but official statements made in these situations aren't always precisely true.

This has been hounding at me lately. And then, the Variety report of him stepping down as director didn't mention he was still on as writer as well. That he stepped down as director is disappointing but it didn't surprise me.To be the star, writer, producer, and director is asking a lot. Not to mention the pressure that comes from everyone who's asking for this movie to be exceptional. But I was excited for at least a Batman solo written by Affleck. I wish that I could look behind the closed doors and mend these worried and curious thoughts.

 

[Boom]

The script is honestly my biggest point of concern right now.

 

[KillerWolf]

^ Everything I wanted to say.
This decision afford WB to move forward the production with another director, deleting some pressure on Allfeck's shoulders and giving him extra-time to work on the script. Sure it feels like bad press, but it could be for the best.
...
Yep, I just repeat what you said... Usual SHH forum stuff aha.

Nah, usual SHH stuff is all this "the end is nigh" stuff that preceded your post.

This has been hounding at me lately. And then, the Variety report of him stepping down as director didn't mention he was still on as writer as well. That he stepped down as director is disappointing but it didn't surprise me.To be the star, writer, producer, and director is asking a lot. Not to mention the pressure that comes from everyone who's asking for this movie to be exceptional. But I was excited for at least a Batman solo written by Affleck. I wish that I could look behind the closed doors and mend these worried and curious thoughts.

I do hope this remained the case.

 

[Jekecy]

We're all assuming Ben wrote a fantastic script or capable of churning out one. It's been led to believe otherwise. So if he's not fit for directing or writing, then they shouldn't force it. I have to laugh if they start announcing a new writer though.

 

[Mrs. Wayne]

I have a feeling they'll hand the script duty to Geoff since he was on to co-write it with Ben. I can't say that's too encouraging.

 

[KillerWolf]

We're all assuming Ben wrote a fantastic script or capable of churning out one. It's been led to believe otherwise. So if he's not fit for directing or writing, then they shouldn't force it. I have to laugh if they start announcing a new writer though.

I'm not assuming he wrote a fantastic script, but, based on some of his interviews, I suspect he went for a more noirish, crime thriller approach, which is something I always wanted for live action Batman film.

I have a feeling they'll hand the script duty to Geoff since he was on to co-write it with Ben. I can't say that's too encouraging.

Johns being part of this (and DCEU in general) was always far from encouraging to me.

 

[Tra-El]

I think the potential holdup would not only be collaborating with Geoff to find the balancing of the source material, but probably fitting everything in as connective stories that need to piggy-back off of the other films. Affleck doesn't have that type of writing experience, does he? It's probably way tougher than it sounds and there's probably inconsistencies that come with that. Again, it's probably more than one thing that's annoying rather than script issues. There's deadlines and having to know what everybody else is doing..for instance, what Ayer is doing with Gotham City Sirens, etc.

 

[J.Drangal]

Ironically, when we learnt that Flash was going back to zero in terms of script, it somewhat pleased me. The movie felt so much stucked in a development hell, this new start gave me hope to have a more solid film than a product that has seen a bunch of rewrites.
That been said... If now Batman follows this path, knowing that Johns who's now the chief of this great project co-wrote this, I would be really, really perplex.
But... It's Batman. Batman always wins. (except in 1997...)

 

[Flint Marko]

Oh wow, I had forgotten Gotham City Sirens.

 

[J.Drangal]

We'll probably all have to forget Gotham City Sirens one day...

 

[Tra-El]

Oh wow, I had forgotten Gotham City Sirens.

Ben could probably write the hell out of a standalone Batman flick, but remember, he appeared in Suicide Squad, which set up a showdown between Bruce and Deadshot (now Deadshot is getting a spinoff, so there's story to be had there.) Batman had his run-in's with Joker and Harley, so who knows where that all ties in because Joker killing Robin in BvS is still in play. Then Deathstroke in Justice League, where will that eventually take us? The huge headache I bet is tying all of this together and Ben probably looked at Snyder's DCEU blueprint and was like "....oh sh$%#."

 

[KillerWolf]

We'll probably all have to forget Gotham City Sirens one day...

Unless they tattoo it on viewers' foreheads in the theater as part of the marketing. Impossible to forget when mirror keeps reminding you.

 

[Mrs. Wayne]

Johns being part of this (and DCEU in general) was always far from encouraging to me.

Same here. Admittedly he does good service to characters like GL and Aquaman but he's not my go to choice for Batman.

 

[KillerWolf]

Same here. Admittedly he does good service to characters like GL and Aquaman but he's not my go to choice for Batman.

He should be kept away as far from Batman as possible, for sure. Also, I always thought him to be a mediocre writer at best, with only few interesting stories behind him... out of all people from DC I'd have as consultants, he wouldn't be nowhere on my list.

 

[J.Drangal]

Unless they tattoo it on viewers' foreheads in the theater as part of the marketing. Impossible to forget when mirror keeps reminding you.

This film could very... damage us.

 

[KillerWolf]

This film could very... damage us.