Batffleck: In a development that is sure to inspire no genuine reaction and be the source of little debate, WB have announced that Ben Affleck is signed to play none other than “The Batman” in Zack Snyder‘s upcoming, untitled Man of Steel sequel — a project which, you surely know, has been most notable for its status as the first live-action onscreen pairing of the Caped Crusader and Superman. With the rather crucial casting announcement comes almost-as-important news regarding a date, the studio now revealing plans to open their picture on July 17, 2015.
Speculation swirls around this title at an unhealthy rate, seeing as essentially zero is known past some of the barest details: central protagonists from this summer’s Superman reboot — Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane et al. — and scribe David S. Goyer are back, the latter taking cues from Frank Miller‘s classic Dark Knight Returns. To that end, earlier reports had indicated that Warner Bros. were aiming for an older performer, an objective somewhat confirmed by a quote, from Snyder, citing Affleck‘s potential to deliver the “portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but [can] retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne.” He’s got a point, really — it’s one of the more “adult” casting decisions the genre’s seen since, for instance, the director’s own Watchmen — so let’s hope, this time around, their screenplay can reflect that wise thinking a little more strongly.
Is Affleck one you’d hope to see don the cowl?