Superman vs. Batman and DC's future

[Duvall]

WB to announce "Man of Steel" sequel for 2015 - will feature a certain arrogant billionaire.

[BD80]

WB to announce "Man of Steel" sequel for 2015 - will feature a certain arrogant billionaire.

Lex Luther?

Interesting idea merging the two franchises, what's the rumor mill say about the next Batman?

[chaosmage]

http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/sup...on-1200565858/

It's official. Setting up for the big one in a few years.

[Duvall]

Ha, this is a terrible, terrible idea.

[Duvall]

Ha, this is a terrible, terrible idea.

I mean, it's really a daring creative choice.

[Atlanta Duke]

Ha, this is a terrible, terrible idea.

Yep - this casting choice is like buying Apple at $700 a share

Affleck has rebuilt his directing/non-blockbuster career but not as an action hero

Should have paid whatever it took to bring Christian Bale back for branding purposes (assuming the whole concept of making tent pole films that underperform in the U.S. but will make it up in overseas is not a failed strategy)

[jjasper0729]

Ha, this is a terrible, terrible idea.

I want to cry. I really really want to cry. As a Batman fan this has got to rank as low as George Clooney. I just have nightmares of Daredevil now.

[BD80]

I want to cry. I really really want to cry. As a Batman fan this has got to rank as low as George Clooney. I just have nightmares of Daredevil now.

But above Val Kilmer.

Face facts, there just haven't been many GOOD casting decisions made for Batman. Bale was the exception.

[jjasper0729]

But above Val Kilmer.

Face facts, there just haven't been many GOOD casting decisions made for Batman. Bale was the exception.

I actually had no problem at all with Michael Keaton. But you're right, it's been a rough go.

[Kdogg]

So does Affleck become the first actor to play both Batman and Superman?

I remember questioning Heath Ledger's casting as the Joker and that worked out brilliantly. I hope this does too because I've always liked Affleck even when he was making bad films. For masked comic book characters I've always thought that it was more important to get the alter ego right (Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne). I'm not sure Affleck can make a believable Wayne like Bale and Keaton did.

[brevity]

So does Affleck become the first actor to play both Batman and Superman?

Depends. Are we including performances in Underoos?

After hearing rumored choices that were a little too grizzled (Josh Brolin) or a little too effete (Benedict Cumberbatch), Ben Affleck sounds just fine. I recall him being in the mix the last time Hollywood rebooted Batman, so I've had about 9 years to get used to the idea.

I immediately see two advantages to this choice:

1. He's American. These days, that's refreshing.
2. He has a sense of humor about himself, which will help next to Henry Cavill. You can imagine an older, less tormented Bruce Wayne advising young Superman to lighten up. This is roughly the opposite of Christian Bale, who gives off a Serious Actor vibe even when he's smiling.

I used to think that casting Batman was mostly about creating the most believable Bruce Wayne, but it's really about being a terrific placeholder for the director's specific vision for Batman. You'll like the actor as Batman if you like that vision. Simple as that. People talk up Keaton and Bale because they like Burton and Nolan. People diss Kilmer and Clooney because of Schumacher.

If Zack Snyder screws this up, which is within the realm of possibility, Affleck (or Bale, or Jon Hamm, or anybody) can't do much to save it.

[davekay1971]

I prefer Affleck as director to Affleck as actor. Affleck, the actor has improved...although his best performances that I can think of (Argo and The Town) have come when he's directing himself. Not sure what kind of performance Zach Snyder, he of the super slow-mo money shots, will bring out of Affleck.

To be fair regarding Daredevil, that movie had many problems, and Affleck was far from the biggest one. The script sucked (written by Mark Steven Johnson, who sucks as a writer...see: Ghost Rider and Electra); the director, also Mark Steven Johnson, is terrible (see: Ghost Rider, When in Rome). Performances across the board sucked (Affleck, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Garner). Take the same Daredevil story arc, put it in the hands of a competent writer/director team, and Affleck probably would have looked a lot better.

All that being said, from a marketing standpoint, I don't understand this choice by the studio or by Affleck. Affleck has earned respect as a director, but he's got a ton of baggage as an actor (associated as the lead of Daredevil, Gigli, Sum of All Fears, etc). Fairly or not, he's viewed as someone who largely became successful because of his close friendship with a more talented actor, Matt Damon. And he's got all the Bennifer tabloid past that makes him someone that our short-attention-span society became tired of hearing about a long time ago. And that's particularly true among the comic book movies' core fanbase - teen and young adult males. It's hard to imagine, in a movie that's going to have a budget this large and that's going to be so important as a franchise builder, the studio would be so tone deaf as to think Affleck was their best choice among all the available 35-50 year old actors they could have considered for this role.

As for Affleck, do you really want your jump back into lead-actor-in-a-big-budget-studio-franchise territory to be following one of the most popular actor portrayals of all time? Following Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman is kind of like succeeding Dean Smith as head coach at UNC. Ben may actually be pretty good as Batman, but all you'll hear is "Imagine what Christian Bale would have done with that script!"

[moonpie23]

as a fan of the DARK KNIGHT series, i always saw THAT batman as someone like micky rourke....not affleck....

[Troublemaker]

Bryan Cranston will play Lex Luthor for a minimum of 6 films, rumors say: http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/24/bryan-...steel-3936111/

Looks like Cranston will sort of be like Samuel L Jackson for DC's shared cinematic universe, except of course, playing an evil character.

And it's on. WB/DC have dropped the gauntlet by adding Affleck and Cranston. The shared cinematic universe will happen, and they're going to try to replicate Marvel's success.

[Troublemaker]

I prefer Affleck as director to Affleck as actor.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind Affleck directing either. This project establishing the DC movie universe is a massive undertaking and seems too big for Zack Snyder and David Goyer, who don't seem all that talented based on previous work. Hopefully Christopher Nolan is heavily involved.

Affleck as Batman is a wait-and-see for me. Could turn out to be a Ledger-as-Joker situation, as someone mentioned.

2. He has a sense of humor about himself, which will help next to Henry Cavill. You can imagine an older, less tormented Bruce Wayne advising young Superman to lighten up. This is roughly the opposite of Christian Bale, who gives off a Serious Actor vibe even when he's smiling.

I would love a lighter Batman but I don't think that's the direction they're going. Sounds like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns will be a major source material, and Miller's Batman has always been grim and gritty.

[DukeFanSince1990]

So funny....

https://www.change.org/petitions/war...n-batman-movie

[JasonEvans]

A few comments...

First of all, I love Bryan Cranston and think he will make a wonderful Luthor. I like that they plan to use him in multiple films too. Luthor's role as an ongoing bad guy billionaire will be well-suited for the DC universe and can be a clever addition to many movies. Well done, Warner and DC!

As for the whole Batfleck news, I think the outrage is misplaced. On the one hand, Ben has done some terrible acting jobs. It is clear at this point that he is a better director than actor. When the hot rumor was that he was going to direct Justice League, no one was upset about that. Now that he is going to act in it, everyone seems to be angry. Sorta funny as the director has FAR MORE IMPACT on the film's final quality than the actor does. It ain't even close.

But I think Ben will be fine. It is not like Batfleck is Keanu Reeves or someone who is incapable of conveying depth and seriousness in a character. He has done well in the past and I don't see rich and brooding Bruce Wayne as all that much of a stretch for him. I think our fears about Affleck as an actor come from the disastrous stretch from 2000 - 2004 when he made Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, Changing Lanes, Daredevil, Gili, Jersey Girl, Paycheck, and Surviving Christmas... whew, those films stunk! But, since 2006 he has made Hollywoodland, State of Play, The Company Men, The Town, and Argo -- not a stinker in the bunch. That's a real nice run of good-excellent films and he's done well in each of them. So, I certainly think he is capable of doing a good job with Wayne/Batman. We know he can play serious so I am fine with the choice. It is not like they picked Woody Harrelson who really only plays sassy characters.

As others have said, it will come down to the writer and director. We know that Snyder and Goyer have a track record both of success and struggles, but I feel good about Nolan guiding the whole process.

-Jason "I am just pleased that DC seems to have some purpose and momentum on their side" Evans

[BD80]

... I think our fears about Affleck as an actor come from the disastrous stretch from 2000 - 2004 when he made Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, Changing Lanes, Daredevil, Gili, Jersey Girl, Paycheck, and Surviving Christmas... whew, those films stunk! But, since 2006 he has made Hollywoodland, State of Play, The Company Men, The Town, and Argo -- not a stinker in the bunch. That's a real nice run of good-excellent films and he's done well in each of them. ...

Kinda like trusting a very expensive luxury liner to a captain who crashed his ship on 9 straight voyages, but has done well the last 5 times out (with smaller vessels).

Pretty big risk for an expensive franchise. Batman is a key to the Justice League. Batfleck could pull down the whole thing!

I agree there could be far worse choices, and that Affleck will be HIGHLY motivated to erase Daredevil from the public's memory (he does have the awareness/humor to joke about his flops, eg skewering Gigli on SNL). I'll bet he goes "all in" on the director's vision, for better or worse.

[Wander]

I'm still a little confused - does this take place in the same universe as the Batman Begins trilogy? Aliens like Superman would seem a little out of place in that world to me.

[Duvall]

I'm still a little confused - does this take place in the same universe as the Batman Begins trilogy? Aliens like Superman would seem a little out of place in that world to me.

It's a sequel to Man of Steel. I assume Justice League will be one as well.