Having starred as Batman in last summer’s blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and due to reprise the role in the upcoming Justice League, Affleck was all set to not only play the Caped Crusader for a third time in new movie (working title) The Batman, but also to direct and write it.
Affleck is of course no stranger to directing and starring in his own movies, having done so in The Town, Argo, and Live By Night, which is out later this month, but it would seem Affleck is getting cold feet about helming the feat.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Affleck was asked about directing the DC superhero project, and answered: ‘That’s the idea. But it’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great, I’m not going to do it.’ Strong words.
Back in July, Affleck told EW he had a script for the Batman movie but was ‘not happy enough with it yet’ and had set ‘a very high bar’ for its standard.
Affleck’s hesitation could be in relation to the Batman v Superman outing, which did well in the box office but got panned critically. The actor-writer-director may just be holding off to see the reception Justice League gets before taking on another DC/Warner Bros project. Mind you, that’s not due to hit cinemas before November so time is ticking for Ben to decide exactly how far he wants his involvement in The Batman to extend.