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Volume 610
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Friday, August 21st, 2020
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Page 3 of 3
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vision before the film was handed off to Joss Whedon to complete - a version of the film that seems to have left no one happy.
Affleck had previously signed to direct and star in a standalone film called The Batman, but ultimately left the project after saying that its demands were taking too much of a personal toll. At the time
he parted ways with the film, he was also dealing with the end of his marriage to Jennifer Garner and struggling with alcoholism. "I showed somebody The Batman script," Affleck told the New York Times.
"They said, I think the script is good. I also think you'll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again."
Barbara Muschietti, the producer of The Flash (and sister and longtime collaborator of the director), told Vanity Fair she had worried this might make him reluctant to return at all. "There have been some
all sorts of stories and things he said himself about having a very hard time playing Batman, and it had been difficult for him," she said. "I think it was more about a difficult time in his life. When we
approached him, he's now in a very different time in his life. He was very open to it, which was a bit of a surprise to us. It was a question mark."
"We are all human and go through great times in our lives and terrible times in our lives," she added. "Right now he's in a place where he can actually enjoy being Batman." Plus, he doesn't have to carry
the entire
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movie. "It's a pivotal role, but at the same time it's a fun part," she said.
Filmmaker Matt Reeves (The Planet of the Apes movies) is now making The Batman with Pattinson as the lead. That film was in the midst of shooting when the coronavirus lockdown hit, and production is set
to resume in the fall.
Although a standalone film for Batfleck didn't happen, his admirers continue to champion Affleck's take on the character.
With The Flash, they'll get to see him answer the Bat-Signal at least once more.
Batman Movie Countdown
THE BATMAN
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