By: Adam Basciano
That title sounds like some crazy DC/Marvel crossover event where Daredevil joins the Justice League and assumes leadership of the group. Well, it’s not. With Christopher Nolan leaving the cape and cowl genre, it makes sense that Warner Brothers would turn to a director they trust and have worked with before. According to Variety, that director is Ben Affleck (“The Town”, ‘Argo”.) Affleck will meet with the studio in the next few days to discuss the project.
Typically, Ben Affleck directs films that he also stars in. Variety asserts that if Affleck takes the helm of this project, he will likely also star. So if he does, who could he potentially play? As far as heroes go, lets take Superman off the table. I assume WB will have the common sense (I know it’s a big leap of faith) to cast Henry Cavill as Superman. Of the male superheroes pretty much guaranteed to appear, that leaves three. Assuming Ryan Reynolds doesn’t return, Hal Jordon/Green Lantern could be an option. The only Flash I could see Ben Affleck possibly playing is Barry Allen.
There’s also the recently vacant role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. I can hear all of you yelling blasphemy, but hear me out. Let me play devil’s advocate. First off, I know most comic book fans hated “Daredevil”. I actually liked it. Sure it’s nowhere near the quality of some of the great films in the genre but I liked it. For those who hated it and Affleck’s performance, an actor is only as good as the script he’s given. I mean imagine Christian Bale in “Batman & Robin.” Regardless, that film’s still a pile of shit. I mean sure, it may smell slightly less putrid, but crap is crap. Regarding Affleck’s age, he’s turning 40 this month. To that I say, so what! Robert Downey Jr. is 47 and he’s playing Tony Stark/Iron-Man. He’s also only 2 years older than current Batman Christian Bale. Besides, in most scenarios the Justice League have been more seasoned heroes by the time they join together anyways.
Moving on to villains, I could see Affleck fitting two roles particularly well. Maxwell Lord was one of the villains in the failed Justice League: Mortal project. If he carries over to this film, that may work. Given the right material, I think Affleck could bring an interesting take to Lex Luthor if the character is featured.
This is all speculation of course, since Ben Affleck has yet to accept the directing job. Although, I find it interesting that he’s the only director who’s been sent a copy of the script. Regardless, it’s an interesting, “out of the box” choice. At least the studio isn’t going after directors like Michael Bay or Joel Schumacher.