After months of various rumours and speculation, Warner Bros. has finally confirmed that Ben Affleck will be directing and starring in a standalone Batman film in the DC Extended Universe. The news was confirmed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday by Kevin Tsujihara, the studio’s chairman and CEO.
While up on stage and speaking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Tsujihara said (via The Hollywood Reporter), “It set up a great foundation for our DC slate, which includes at least 10 movies through 2020. I’m also excited to know that we will be working with Ben Affleck on a standalone Batman movie.”
Affleck took the stage with co-star Amy Adams soon after Tsujihara’s remarks to thank the cinema owners attending the convention for contributing to Dawn of Justice‘s box office success but didn’t mention any further details about the project.
It’s no surprise that Affleck is getting involved behind-the-scenes on a future DC project, considering how he has a near spotless track record when it comes to directing. Over the past decade, he has helmed such critically acclaimed pictures as Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Best Picture winner Argo.
An exact date that the film will hit theaters was not revealed, but DC recently carved out two slots for upcoming projects, so one would assume that it will either occupy the October 5, 2018 or November 1, 2019 release date. If this is true, it would mean that DC still has one mystery project built into its slate from now until 2020.
On top of his solo film, Affleck’s Batman is also set to appear in this August’s Suicide Squad as well as both upcoming Justice League movies.
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