According to The Batman director, Matt Reeves, the original script by Ben Affleck would have been “action-driven” and “James Bond-in.” Original plans would have had Affleck reprising his role for the solo Batman project.
Batman fans will forever wonder how Ben Affleck’s solo movie now that his take on the Caped Crusader will never shine on the big screen. While the actor and director came very close to continuing his Batman career, Affleck eventually left the project, leaving a lot up in the air about the next solo Batman movie.
But in a recent conversation with Esquire, The Batman director offered some details regarding Affleck’s script and why it wasn’t for him.
“I read a script that they had that was a totally valid take on the movie. It was very action-driven. It was deeply connected to the DCEU, with other major characters from other movies and other comics popping up,” Reeves said.
Matt Reeve’s The Batman starring Robert Pattinson as Batman is in its own standalone universe, while Ben Affleck’s version would have been tied within the DCEU. It shouldn’t be a surprise considering Affleck was introduced alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman.
Matt Reeves seemed to have enjoyed Affleck’s script, it just wasn’t what he had in mind for Batman’s next dark journey. He did describe the script as “valid” and “exciting.” At one point he even compared Affleck’s Batman to action-movie icon James Bond.
“I just knew that when I read it this particular script was not the way I’d want to do it. I said look, I think maybe I’m not the person for this. And I explained to them why I love this character,” Reeves continued. I told them that there have been so many great movies, but if I were to do this, I’d have to make it personal, so that I understood what I was going to do with it, so that I know where to put the camera, so that I know what to tell the actors, so that I know what the story should be. This take, I told them, pointing at the script, is a totally valid and exciting take. It is almost James Bond-ian, but it wasn’t something that I quite related to.”
The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Collin Farrell, Andy Serkis, and John Turturro, arrives in theaters on March 4, 2022.
