While the fan reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice turned out to be shaky, an interesting high note from the movie was Ben Affleck as Batman. “Batfleck”, as he was so affectionately named after landing the role, was enough of a hit that Affleck was announced to be directing and starring in the next solo Batman film, including possibly a trilogy.
In an interview with Spanish news outlet Cines Argentinos, Affleck talked about his vision for his Batman movie, which includes forming an original story based on the comic book theme.
(transcribed via ScreenRant):
“I think what I would do is, I would probably do in some ways what Zack [Snyder] did with this movie, which is to borrow great stories from the great comic books but create an original story around it. I wouldn’t want fans to already know the story, but I would borrow — steal — great things that have been done before in the comics.”
Batman v Superman was meant to depict parts of The Dark Knight Returns comic, but many plot points were created for the movie that did not happen in the comic story. You can’t blame Affleck for wanting to take the same approach for his project from the perspective of creative control. This is clearly something he’s been excited about and wants to make a mark on, which means putting his own conceptual touch on the Batman story.
This approach could cause a disruptive and disappointing reaction from fans and comic heads, much like Batman v Superman did, for tampering with the plot from the comic so loosely. Affleck has enough natural pressure to deliver since he’s following up from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy as the last solo Batman saga. The story, the script, the portrayal, and of course, the villain, will have exceeding expectations for the franchise and for the DC Comics Universe.
