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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Holy What-The-Hell, Batman!

Holy What-The-Hell, Batman!

by | 143 Comments

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Ben Affleck will portray Batman in the upcoming movie.

The actor will replace Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming untitled Superman-Batman feature for Warner Bros., the studio announced Thursday.

So, Ben Affleck is the Batman we get, not the Batman we want or need or…something.
Look, in movies that he directs, he’s been fracking awesome. I LOVED “The Town” and “Gone, Baby Gone” and “Argo” was a great story well told even if it was a little changed from history.
But this? I don’t see it.

Michael Keaton worked as Batman precisely because he was older and had not done super hero or action type movies before, so when he walked around as Bruce Wayne it worked, and when he put on the mask and cape, it looked like Bruce Wayne in a mask and cape and not some super hero.  It was realistic in other words.   The counter-intuitive casting worked really well for that movie, and he did an excellent job playing straight man to Jack Nicholson’s Joker.  I suppose I’ll have to hope for lightning to strike twice.

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143Comments

  2. 2.

    MoeLarryAndJesus

    I can’t imagine why anyone cares. Let Phillip Seymour Hoffman play Batman, just for fun.

    Or even Seymour Butts.

  3. 3.

    chopper

    I’m imagining affleck trying to do bale’s strained batman tough guy voice. this is gonna be funny.

  4. 4.

    Yatsuno

    Well now I know why he looked so fucking huge in the last picture I saw of him. But Jeebus. What fucking casting director thought this was a good idea?

  5. 5.

    Jeremy

    Comic book guyss said the same things about Keaton as Batman, Bale as Batman, Hathaway as a Catwoman… and, most notably, Heath fucking Ledger as Joker.

  9. 9.

    lamh36

    @erlking: The best thing about Daredevil was Jenn Garner as Elektra and her Elektra movie wasn’t that bad IMHO, but Daredevil was such a goose egg, it tainted the Elektra movie from the beginning

    I’ve said it before, I’m not a big DC Comics fan (I’m a Marvel girl) but still, when I read this news all I thought was NO! NO! NO! I’m betting big fans are aghast.

    Elon James twitter feed is hilarious

    @elonjames 24m
    Ben Affleck is the new #BATMAN. That explains that sudden crying fit I had earlier tonight for no reason. #WeNerdHard

    @elonjames 22m
    Ben Afleck being cast as Batman is like Leonardo DiCaprio being cast as Barack Obama. #WeNerdHard

    ‏@elonjames 13m
    Ben Afleck as the new #Batman is like saying “Hey, do you really like ice cream? Cool. What about if we made it taste like ass grease?”

    ‏@elonjames 5m
    “We need a new #BATMAN! He needs to be dynamic & really charismatic. Oh! WE CAN GET THAT GUY WHO SUCKED MONKEY BALLS IN DAREDEVIL!”

    @elonjames 50s
    I would’ve prefered they just tell me #Batman was racist. I can deal with #RacistBatman over Ben Afleck Batman… #WeNerdHard

  11. 11.

    Felonius Monk

    Well, if it turns out to be a poor movie, we can just call it a Baf-fleck, which would also be a poor pun.

  13. 13.

    Rafer Janders

    Michael Keaton worked as Batman precisely because he was older and had not done super hero or action type movies before, so when he walked around as Bruce Wayne it worked,

    Um, no. No, it didn’t.

  14. 14.

    Narcissus

    This might work if they take a different tack, maybe really play up the detective angle. No film Batman has really done much with the whole “world’s greatest detective” thing yet.

    I had no idea there was going to be a Supes/Batman movie.

    ETA: Actually now that I think about this Affleck might be able to do a sort of seventies-eighties Pre-Frank Miller Batman.

  15. 15.

    ? Martin

    Well, the Batman/Superman movie was predestined to suck, so I don’t see what this does to change anything. How do we get Danny Devito cast as Superman?

  16. 16.

    TheMightyTrowel

    I knew today was going to be a bad day when a sudden sun shower soaked me on my cycle in to work. It got worse.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Do movie studios troll the internet?

    Apparently so.

    And I don’t care how old he is, still want to see David Bowie as Joker.

    Hmmm… Tina Fey as Harley Quinn?

  22. 22.

    askew

    I am stunned that Affleck signed on to this. Daredevil was the beginning of his downward cycle in Hollywood and he has gained so much credibility from Gone Baby Gone, Town and Argo that I am surprised he is willing to hurt his comeback by signing on to this movie. It’s clearly going to be a disaster.

  24. 24.

    Suffern ACE

    I did not like the Superman film that much fwiw. I thought Bale’s batman was way too “I’m almost unhinged. I tell you at any moment I’m going to go mad”. Since the Superman we have now is emotionally damaged as well, it might be ok to have a slightly more adjusted batman as a contrast.

  25. 25.

    Splitting Image

    @Jeremy:

    Comic book guyss said the same things about Keaton as Batman, Bale as Batman, Hathaway as a Catwoman… and, most notably, Heath fucking Ledger as Joker.

    Heath Ledger is wildly overrated as the Joker, but not as overrated as the last three Batman movies in general. Batman Begins is the Phantom Menace of the entire franchise – I think that the Schumacher movies look good by comparison – and the last two suffer from being sequels to it.

    On the other hand, Marvel and DC have done maybe 40 or 50 movies between them over the last decade and a half, and the Batman series doesn’t look too bad when stacked up to most of the others, which makes me think that the era of comic book movies will be remembered the way that comic books from the 1990s now are.

  29. 29.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @askew: but that wasn’t quite a disaster of a film. i mean daredevil, gigli, they were disasters. I’m brainstorming disastrous disaster films here.

  30. 30.

    Chris

    @lamh36:

    I’ve never heard the expression “goose egg,” but if it’s what it sounds like, I agree. Funny thing is that when I discovered Daredevil comics years later, I actually thought they were pretty cool, but the movie… just didn’t do it for me.

    @? Martin:

    Word. Superman deserves to grow through his own movies without having to fight another superhero for the limelight. Goddamn it.

  31. 31.

    Splitting Image

    Also, I’d like to add that the one movie I am waiting for is Howard the Duck II: the Duck Knight.

    With a screenplay by zombie Steve Gerber.

  32. 32.

    Redshirt

    @NotMax: LL would be good too. As long as Damon is in the flick.

    Here’s my prediction of the plot: Lex Luthor uses the destruction of Metropolis to gain power and make the world afraid of this God-like Alien. Lex is the ostensible good guy. Batman is intrigued about Superman too, so he joins up with Lex Luthor to study (and defeat) the Super Man.

    Bats is betrayed in the end, and Superman saves the day.

  33. 33.

    Suzanne

    I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

    Maybe it’s just the cramps giving me diarrhea. Maybe it’s Ben Affleck (who is NOT hot). Who knows.

  34. 34.

    ? Martin

    From the twitters:

    20 years ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs and now we have no cash, no hope, no jobs and Ben Affleck is Batman.

  35. 35.

    Chris

    @Splitting Image:

    Heath Ledger is wildly overrated as the Joker

    You’d expect a Star Wars nerd to say this (watching ROTS right now, actually), but Mark Hamill was the best Joker.

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    It gets worse: Zach Snyder is directing it.

    Ben must need money for college funds now that he has three kids.

  38. 38.

    Suffern ACE

    @Chris: I don’t see this superman growing. Yay, he learned that sometimes he’s going to have to use his powers to kill people! He’s almost become like able right before our eyes!

  39. 39.

    Belafon

    Really. It’s as bad as imagining Chris Evans trying to play Captain America after playing Johnny Storm? Or Andrew Garfield trying to play Spider Man after Toby Maguire.

    I mean, Ben doesn’t have the acting range to play someone who shows no emotions.

  40. 40.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne: *I* need college funds. :::pout:::

    On a serious note, I hope the O-man’s student loan income-based repayment plan actually happens. Christ on a cracker.

  41. 41.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    This will not end well. Not that I was exactly gonna rush to see the film, but it’s a mistake.

  43. 43.

    ? Martin

    @Suzanne:

    On a serious note, I hope the O-man’s student loan income-based repayment plan actually happens. Christ on a cracker.

    That would radically change the world for the better.

  44. 44.

    Redshirt

    @Suffern ACE: Sure, there’s growth. The entire first movie Superman is basically Clark Kent, and doesn’t really know/trust to use his powers. When his heritage is fully revealed, and then the threat on Earth, he becomes Superman – but it’s only at the end of the movie. Plus, there’s all kinds of Kent/Lane romcom hinjinks to be mined. The plot could be great – Lex Luthor has to play a role, and he could easily be spun as an ostensible sympathetic figure. At first.

    But Batman? Ug. And a Ben Affleck Batman – meaning, he’ll get no time to move into the role (a role Bale defined for a generation just last year!), or Batman will take over the Superman movie.

  45. 45.

    Kropadope

    In the article I first read about this, they said that this is not a continuation of the Batman character from the Dark Knight movies. Does that mean that they’re going to have a full other Batman story-line. Will they continue the other as well?

    I don’t care what anyone says, the new 3 Batmans are far superior to the 90s movies, even Begins (though I really like all 3 equally). Only Batman Returns comes close. The 90s Batman was all about the Fox/WB cartoons.

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    All I want to know is how will this affect the Justice League movie? Does this mean that Ben Afleck will be playing Batman in the alleged Justice League film?

    ETA: Oh and I blame Obama of course

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    @Mike in NC

    So many iterations of Batman over the years since his first appearance, it is difficult to slam them all out of hand. There’s literally a version for everyone.

    Frank Miller’s dark, dark, dark The Dark Knight Returns mini-series (1986) continues to metastasize.

    It was fine as a novelty and change of pace, but has become the touchstone (and the basis for the new movie).

    Note that Miller is also consulting on the film.

  50. 50.

    Keith P

    @Suffern ACE: I LOVED Man of Steel, but the reason I liked it so much was that it was a sci-fi movie, not really a superhero film (also I really did like the way the film was structured with some IMO good drama and imagery, plus the destruction was just so over the top). I’m not seeing Affleck working as Batman, but then I’m not very high on the idea of Batman vs. Superman. Given what Supes walked through in MoS, he should kill Batman just by thumping him. Hell, he should vaporize the guy just by *looking* at him.

  51. 51.

    Chris

    @Redshirt:

    Yeah. Like I said, I think they deserve to be the heroes of their own stories (which in today’s world usually means trilogy) before they’re onscreen together (which would work best once each of them is a fully established hero in his own right).

    I suspect this means they’re using Lex Luthor as the villain; he’s pretty much the only villain that works in both their universes (the rest of Superman’s enemies are way above Batman’s level, and using Superman to go after street criminals would be using the proverbial cannon to go after a mosquito). Maybe that was enough to cause the crossover.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Belafon: I mean, Ben doesn’t have the acting range to play someone who shows no emotions.

    That’s funny.

    Glad to see I’m not the only one who thought Heath Ledger was overrated as teh Joker. LIke anyone could replace Cesar Fucking Romero. I can’t remember if I ever saw Ledger in anything else.

  54. 54.

    J.D. Rhoades

    Everyone who’s ever been cast as Batman–or any other superhero for that matter– has elicited cries of “Oh NOOOOOOOOES!!!!!!111” from some portion of fandom, so who cares? I’ll wait till the movie comes out.

  56. 56.

    Howard Beale IV

    It’s been almost 20 years since Affleck played a grigorgi-methinks he might actually pull it off.

  57. 57.

    Suffern ACE

    @Keith P: my guess is that green krypton ire will be used often. Because this superman is just too powerful. I think we need to reboot the superman concept. Pre-George Reeves. You know, when a speeding bullet was actually fast enough.

  59. 59.

    Morbo

    I assume they confused him for Matt Damon, who obviously has the right jawline to go under the cowl.

  61. 61.

    Suffern ACE

    @Redshirt: I liked this Lois on her own, but didn’t like this Lois with this Superman. I couldn’t really see them getting together if the plot didn’t demand it. She could do so much better, and I didn’t believe he was infatuated with her. He was maybe at best curious about her, but was so stiff around her, but not in a way that was endearing.

    I guess he has to be stiff, or he’d kill her by mistake. But still.

  62. 62.

    Howard Beale IV

    What’s sad about this story is the fact that Hollywood continues to play it safe and recycle the DC/Marvel Universes, when Japan’s anime could easily create a Hollywood-style franchise (Gundam, Ghost In The Shell) and actually be successful with it.

    I mean, Jack Nicholson as Daisuke Aramaki. It’s an incredible fit.

  63. 63.

    lamh36

    I think I love Richard Dreyfuss’ twitter the most among the many celeb tweets. It’s simple, direct, yet biting…lol.

    @RichardDreyfuss You read for a part, you feel good about it, you feel confident, then they cast Ben Affleck.

  67. 67.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    @Howard Beale IV: There’s supposed to be an American version of Akira, but all I’ve read about it makes me somewhat less than confident that it won’t suck.

  70. 70.

    Suffern ACE

    I wonder if Superman would be susceptible to common diseases and infections. This Superman is carrying the genetic material of all of his people and perhaps the next movie will involve Superman developing the type of libido necessary for an alien tasked with resurrecting a species. Maybe batman will figure that out and defeat him with V.D.

  72. 72.

    Citizen_X

    No love for Adam West?

    @Redshirt:

    Superman as Reagan’s personal war machine was an inspired touch.

    Hell, I thought Reagan being kept alive, Cheney style, and President for thirteen or something terms until he finally got his WWIII was pretty inspired.

  75. 75.

    ruemara

    Well, that explains the odd bout of indigestion I had. that being said, since I’m now watching Ghost Shark, I doubt Bats+Supes: The Twin Titans of Tights, could really be that bad. I wonder who’s gonna work on it, maybe I can get grip job.

    @Citizen_X: Elysium. Very good, quite new. No one is seeing it.There’s your answer. Audiences want regurgitated for your pleasure. Less thinky to do.

  78. 78.

    Tripod

    $$$$$$$$

    There is little industry interest in the solid, modestly profitable dramas he makes. Hollywood wants product that will clear $100 million in China. So maybe W-B is willing to help finance some of his films if he goes mercenary on the Bat.

  79. 79.

    CaseyL

    What Keaton brought to the role that none of the others have was a sense that Bruce Wayne *liked* having a streak of violent lunatic rage writhing just under his skin. No matter how much under control he was, you could see it in his eyes and mouth: any minute, he might go 0-60 berzerk in one tenth of a second.

  82. 82.

    WarMunchkin

    Hated Man of Steel, as a DC guy, as it pretty much breaks Superman as this character you look up to for his goodness and upbringing. One of the things that makes Batman&Superman work as the World’s Finest is the tonal differences between the two characters’ respective works. Man of Steel left no room for Superman to be… a pleasant human being, really.

  85. 85.

    TG Chicago

    @NotMax:

    Hmmm… Tina Fey as Harley Quinn?

    I love Tina, but Harley needs to be more manic pixie nightmare girl. I’m not up on moviestars. Who’s the current 22 y/o version of Drew Barrymore?

  88. 88.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @? Martin:

    How do we get Danny Devito cast as Superman?

    How about Charlie Day? Superman bores the fuck outta me, but I’d pay evening prices to see
    THAT!

  89. 89.

    Anya

    Ben Affleck as Batman, what the freaking hell?

    I wonder Aurora theatre shooting is the reason Bale is not doing another Batman.

  90. 90.

    seaboogie

    I don’t follow the movies or comics and therefore don’t care, but the commentary strikes me a bit funny just for this: As everyone goes to their jobs tomorrow, what if the whole commentariat had an opinion as to just how well suited to your job you are and felt free to exclaim upon it, even before you got to work? Granted, none of us get paid the bajillion dollars these actors do, but it’s still kind of the same thing with more zeroes attached to it before the decimal point.

  93. 93.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    @Redshirt: Yep. I literally started dozing during the o’er-the-top action sequences that weighed down (but not unexpectedly) the third act of MOS; but for that, I really liked where they took the Kal-El/Clark Kent character, and I didn’t mind so much that the Supes/Lois Lane angle got shoved into the margins, especially when the end of MOS hinted (STRONGLY) that their relationship would get further exploration in the sequel. (And I gotta say, Henry Cavill is so pasta-damned charming he actually does sorta eclipse Amy Adams, which I can barely believe I’m typing.) BUT, NO-O-O-O-O-O!, they gotta insert The Great Batty One into the picture. Will it be a bromance, or some sorta dick-measuring thingy? Dunno, but either way: Meh to the power of Meh.

  94. 94.

    TG Chicago

    @NotMax:

    Note that [Frank] Miller is also consulting on the film.

    Reading between the lines, I take that article as saying “We’re paying Miller off so he doesn’t sue or badmouth us”.

  95. 95.

    Chris

    @seaboogie:

    How’s it any different from what we do every day to politicians, pundits, tycoons and the like? Actors’ jobs, by definition – their entire employment history – are on the public record. Heck, their careers depend on the entire world looking at their work and judging it (hopefully for them, positively). So yes, we, the audience, having seen what the job entails (e.g. watched Batman movies and read Batman comics) and having seen the person’s job and performance history (e.g. seen previous Ben Affleck movies), are perfectly qualified to have an opinion on whether or not he’s suited to his next job.

  96. 96.

    Ted & Hellen

    Am I the only one who thinks Christian Bale’s ridiculous raspy/fake Batman voice was ridiculous and fake?

    Were we to believe that if we just speak in a hoarse whisper no one will recognize us?

    Secondly, I’m beginning to think the Affleck Batman will rock, simply because its doing so against all the odds and the voices of instant disdain at the casting will make such a great Hollywood comeback story that the critics will twist themselves into knots to make it happen.

    And even though he often sucks, there is something appealing about Affleck as a screen presence. Argo didn’t suck because of his acting, it was his direction and the screenplay. Christ…boring.

  98. 98.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Kropadope:

    We will agree to disagree, and god knows he won an Oscar so what do I know? But I saw it and thought it would bomb.

    But I slept thru most of Titanic too. :D

  99. 99.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Ted & Hellen: so your opinion of something is that it will turn out to be the opposite of what you think everyone else will say? That’s a shock.

  100. 100.

    magurakurin

    @Ted & Hellen:

    How can you call people hideous names, hurl insults left and right, start fights with everyone in sight, and generally piss and shit in the punch bowl all day and night…and then come on a thread about movies and act like everybody is just buds and it’s all just copacetic? You’re one fucked up mutha.

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    @Citizen_X

    Watched the trailer for Elysium and was thinking about putting it onto my ‘watch this someday’ list (I can’t go the the theaters here), until one single line of dialogue blew the whole suspension of disbelief thing for me, blatantly showing that the makers of it had but only the slimmest knowledge of science and barely a glancing acquaintance with tenets of science fiction. Totally lost any interest in ever seeing it after that. Figured that if the creators cared so little, why should I care at all.

    Glad you enjoyed it, and will not in any way possibly spoil that enjoyment by being more specific.

  103. 103.

    n

    @Uriel

    That’s voice acting (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I’d still like to see him strutting elegantly while chewing the scenery as the thin white purple duke.

  105. 105.

    Ted & Hellen

    @magurakurin:

    Because, unlike a lot of people here, you included, I don’t read this blog as a replacement for a personal life in the real world, involving actual living humans.

    I don’t read this blog or comment here in an attempt to make nice with faceless people on the Intertrons, to make them my dear pretend friends. I am not that desperate. NO ONE you have not met face to face and grown to know over time IRL can be your “friend.” You don’t know them, hello?

    This is a political blog. Quit pretending it’s a koffee klatch for you and your besties.

    I don’t give a fuck what you think of me, or of what I write. I just say what I believe and think and if you don’t like it, you can piss off.

  106. 106.

    A Humble Lurker

    @Howard Beale IV:
    Oh, no. I mean, I think GITS could work. It’s got a lot of stuff that stereotypical Americans would love, even with some of the heavier stuff. But Evangelion? Don’t get me wrong, I want to see it, but I have almost no hope for it turning out great. I mean…just look at EoE. How’s THAT supposed to work? Plus, I don’t know if you wanna factor in Rebuild…

    Hell, screw the content, think about the technical issues and how much the kids are going to age between movies. I’d rather someone try GITS or Akira first.

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    @Uriel

    FYWP. Tryng again.

    That’s voice acting (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I’d still like to see him strutting elegantly while chewing the scenery as the thin white purple duke.

  108. 108.

    Ted & Hellen

    @magurakurin:

    How can you call people hideous names, hurl insults left and right, start fights with everyone in sight,

    THIS, perhaps more clearly than anything else, once again shows the absolute deaf and blind-ass, echo chamber nature of the Bot think on this blog.

    All a person has to do here to be insulted and called vile names is to post a comment not in keeping with the Bot-think hive mind prevalent among the dominant commenter cohort. It happens to many others besides me.

    All a person has to do to be threatened with violence and urged to kill themselves here is to answer the insults and name calling in kind, and to have the temerity to continue to comment here.

    Naturally, you, being a Bot and an idiot, have somehow managed to ignore all the bile slung my way.

    I am vitriolically hated here primarily because I refuse to go away.

    I welcome your hatred. Coming from people like you, and considering the source, it reassures me I am on the right track as a human being.

    Kisses!

  109. 109.

    magurakurin

    @Ted & Hellen:

    yea-a-h, o–okay then (looks around to see if there are any sharp objects nearby this lunatic)

    wipe the fucking spittle off of your mouth, you pederast fuckwit.

  110. 110.

    FlipYrWhig

    @magurakurin: “Everyone else here likes | hates X! But not me, I think it sucks | rules! Deal with it, fucko!” That’s what I call entertainment.

  114. 114.

    Narcissus

    @Ted & Hellen:

    I don’t give a fuck what you think of me,

    You really do, perhaps more than anyone else that posts here.

    Your troll-fu is much better than it was though

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    @Anya:
    Bale said he’d continue as Batman only if Nolan wanted to do a fourth Dark Knight movie; otherwise, he said his turn at it was over, and he was happy to see some other actor succeed him. For what it’s worth, I thought he did very well in the role and was impressed with the Nolan trilogy as a whole.

    I’d be keen to see how Ben Affleck plays Batman. The character affords an actor a bit more latitude than Superman does, I think.

  117. 117.

    Yatsuno

    @A Humble Lurker:

    But Evangelion? Don’t get me wrong, I want to see it, but I have almost no hope for it turning out great

    They just tried that. It’s called Pacific Rim. I’m almost comfortable calling it an Evangelion ripoff.

  121. 121.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    There were rumors a couple of months ago that they were pursuing Affleck for Batman for the JL movie and that directing it had to be part of the package. Or maybe the other way around, they wanted him to direct it and Batman was part of his price? Can’t find the report now; it’s buried under all the announcements.

    Either way, not surprised at all.

  122. 122.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @A Humble Lurker: Yes, very good. See it. Stay for the credits bonus scene.

    There’s talk about replacing the Bechdel test with the Mako Mori test. As a writer, I kind of like the idea.

  125. 125.

    PaulW

    Ben Affleck is only good in Kevin Smith movies (save for Jersey Girl: what the hell happened there). Or when Matt Damon is there to keep him honest. Everything else… ehhh, he’s, well…

    I think the thing is Affleck doesn’t project the intensity needed to play an Alpha Male, Brooding, My-Parents-Are-Dead hero type.

  126. 126.

    lol

    @Howard Beale IV:

    And then we’d have complaints about whitewashing unless you seriously think Hollywood will bother to do a mostly Asian cast. Spoiler alert: They won’t as Avatar: The Last Airbender proved.

    Maybe if you had an indie-ish production where they used some big names for the cool-guy-mentor (usually a blond haired American already) and the villain (masked) to anchor a cast of unknowns, but at that point the SFX will probably be low budget which is bad news for the big robot genre.

  127. 127.

    Jay in Oregon

    @lamh36:
    All I want to know is how will this affect the Justice League movie? Does this mean that Ben Afleck will be playing Batman in the alleged Justice League film?

    It took six years for Disney/Marvel to lay the groundwork for The Avengers, and any of the lead-in movies (Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America) had been flops then it probably wouldn’t have happened.

    Well, Green Lantern apparently sucked ass and they apparently have no real plans for a Wonder Woman movie. If the Superman/Batman movie is the opening shot for a series then we probably won’t see a Justice League movie until 2019 at the earliest.

  129. 129.

    H.K. Anders

    Well, he was AWESOME as Daredevil, so this could be just a good.

    No, wait… that’s right… he sucked as Daredevil. Oh, well.

  130. 130.

    H.K. Anders

    Well, he was AWESOME as Daredevil, so this could be just as good.

    No, wait… that’s right… he sucked as Daredevil. Oh, well.

  131. 131.

    H.K. Anders

    Well, he was AWESOME as Daredevil, so this could be just as good.

    No, wait… that’s right… he sucked as Daredevil. Oh, well.

  132. 132.

    H.K. Anders

    Well, he was AWESOME as Daredevil, so this could be just as good.

    No, wait… that’s right… he sucked as Daredevil. Oh, well.

  133. 133.

    H.K. Anders

    Well, he was AWESOME as Daredevil, so this could be just as good.

    No, wait… that’s right… he sucked as Daredevil. Oh, well.

  136. 136.

    Vlad

    @ruemara: Sure, if by “good”, you mean “impossibly cliched and formulaic”.

    I was willing to give it a shot because of Blomkamp, but oof, what a disappointment.

  137. 137.

    Vlad

    @A Humble Lurker: Pacific Rim isn’t a very intellectual movie, but it was pretty well-crafted and I had fun when I saw it. The script sets up some things that pay off later on, and you can mostly tell what’s happening during the action sequences. I’d recommend it.

  138. 138.

    Vlad

    @dan: Yeah, once they announced Snyder as the director, I knew the Batman/Superman movie was pretty irredeemably fucked. He did a pretty good job on the opening of the Dawn of the Dead remake, but since then, it’s all flashy, self-indulgent bullshit.

  140. 140.

    Cris (without an H)

    @Vlad: I was cautiously optimistic about Man of Steel, because the first trailer looked pretty intriguing. But then I thought about how badly Snyder missed the point on Watchmen. Among other things, he is prone to the fatal error of thinking that a comic books is a storyboard, and you can just shoot the film straight from it.

    But I haven’t seen Man of Steel yet, so I can’t say much. Its screenplay, like the upcoming World’s Finest movie, was written by the guy who did all three of Nolan’s Batman films, so there’s that.

  142. 142.

    mere mortal

    “The counter-intuitive casting worked really well for that movie, and he did an excellent job playing straight man to Jack Nicholson’s Joker.”

    So, um, no. No. Keaton was cast as Batman on the strength of his performance in Clean and Sober. Tim Burton’s Batman wasn’t a straight man playing against an insane Joker.

    The point was that both of the characters are completely bonkers. He dresses up like a freaking bat, for Pete’s sake.

    Looks like CaseyL beat me to it at #79.

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