Ben Affleck to Co-Write & Direct Solo Batman Movie 0 688

ben-affleck-to-co-write-and-direct-solo-batman-movie

Well this is some pretty major and interesting news: it’s being reported that Ben Affleck, soon to suit up for the first time as Batman, will co-write and direct a solo movie featuring the Caped Crusader.

Deadline reports the news that Affleck will work on the first post-Christopher Nolan solo Batman movie with DC’s Geoff Johns. After Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Affleck plans to finally get around to directing his long-gestating adaptation of Dennis Lahan’se novel Live By Night (the author who wrote the book upon which Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone was based). But after that his attention turns to this new standalone Batflick and supposedly he and Johns are confident that they will have a script before the end of this summer – ambitious! As you would hope, the new movie is said to follow-up with Batman as he emerges from the events of Dawn of Justice.

Comic fans will know Johns’ name but if you’re not in the loop then don’t be worried that he’s some random writer who doesn’t know anything about the character: Johns is the chief creative officer over at DC Comics and has written some of the most loved comic series including Green Lantern, Justice League, Superman and, of course, Batman. He’s also worked on TV’s Smallville, The Flash and Arrow, so I think if anyone was going to co-write it, he seems like a fine choice.

As for Affleck not just being the titular hero himself but also the man behind the camera, it’s certainly an interesting choice and Affleck has proven in the past with Gone Baby Gone, The Town and the Oscar-winning Argo that he’s a very talented director. However, this would be a huge jump up in scale and budget, not to mention feature huge action sequences that he hasn’t directed before. I can only guess that him working on Dawn of Justice has given him the confidence to combine that world with his directorial style.

Affleck plans to shoot Live By Night this November and presumably this solo Batman movie would shoot in early 2016. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits cinemas on March 26th, 2016.

Source: Deadline

Previous ArticleNext Article
I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leonardo DiCaprio Producing Volkswagen Scandal Movie 0 1400

leonardo-dicaprio-producing-volkswagen-scandal-movie

Wow, talk about things moving fast in Hollywood!

It may have only been a few weeks since the scandal erupted around the Volkswagen fuel emissions cheating but there’s already a movie in the works. DiCaprio is on board to produce the film alongside Jennifer Davisson through his Appian Way company.

There’s no mention of stars, writer or director yet – one might assume that DiCaprio might star himself but he’s a known environmentalist who has produced these types of themed films before (the climate change documentary The 11th Hour chief among them) so it wouldn’t surprise me if he kept himself strictly as a producer for this one, too.

Paramount is the studio behind the movie, having nabbed the presumably sought-after rights to the upcoming book by Jack Ewing. Variety has the details on what it exposes:

“…The company placed illegal software in their clean diesel cars that could tell when a car was being tested for fuel emissions and would turn on the emissions control to cheat the test and meet EPA standards. During normal driving conditions, emission control software was shut off  — resulting in as much as 40 times more pollution than allowed by law. Volkswagen is currently facing up to $18 billion in fines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

If there’s one thing Hollywood loves it’s a true story and, more specifically, a controversial one. Getting this one made and out in the world will be crucial for it to feel relevant to audiences. DiCaprio being attached can’t exactly hurt its box office chances.

The actor will next be seen in the amazing-looking The Revenant.

Source: Variety

Watch: Incredible New Trailer for ‘The Revenant’ 0 1238

watch-incredible-new-trailer-for-the-revenant

We don’t usually post trailers individually – saving them for the Trailer Watch – but this one was just too good to pass up.

The Revenant is the new film from acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who most recently won an Oscar for Birdman. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter in a tale of a forntierman in 1820 who sets out on a path of vengeance who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

We already had one amazing teaser trailer, now check out the equally great new trailer below:

Could this be the film that finally wins Leo his Best Actor Oscar? Quite possibly!

The Revenant is set for release in the UK on January 15th, 2016.