Although I wouldn't peg MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE or SUICIDE SQUAD as bad movies, they haven't exactly blown me away as I was hoping they would, but with plenty of upcoming DCEU flicks on the horizon, Warner Bros. still has a chance to turn it all around. Ben Affleck's standalone Batman film is perhaps the one which I'm looking forward to the most, if only to see what Affleck can do with the character when he's firmly in control.
With Warner Bros. recently delaying the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE PART TWO in order to make room Affleck's Bat-flick, we finally have a rough idea on when we'll see Batman's first solo-adventure in the DCEU. Just yesterday, Ben Affleck gave a small update on the development of the film, saying that they were still working on the screenplay and wanted to make sure that everything was just right before proceeding; today, he indicated to Variety that he expects the film to kick off production by spring 2017.
We’re on the right track with that and everything is coming together. We’re still finishing up a script. I’m very excited.
Of all the members of the JUSTICE LEAGUE, Batman has had the most films devoted to his character, ranging from Tim Burton's BATMAN to Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Although Ben Affleck has great respect for what came before, he also said that "at a certain point you have to look forward and try to believe in your own vision for it and not be looking over your shoulder the whole time." The standalone film will see Batman facing off against Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello), but, as always, Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons) and Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) will be by his side. Speaking of Jeremy Irons, the actor recently spoke with IGN to tease what his very "hands-on" character thinks about living in this new world of heroes and villains.
I think he's waiting with baited breath to see what is going to happen. He's in the employ of Bruce Wayne and he doesn't always agree with him but I think he'll help where he can. And I'm not sure in Justice League we'll see that much of him because we have five superheroes to deal with and Alfred is just the batman [a term for the soldier-servant of a commissioned officer in the British military] of one of them. It'll be very interesting to see where he gets to, when we get to Ben's production of Batman this spring. I haven't read the script of it yet. I think all of us who are sort of normal human beings, which Alfred is, we watch the gods with amazement and some spite.
JUSTICE LEAGUE will hit theaters on November 17, 2017 and, although Warner Bros. hasn't given BATMAN an official release date, former President of Creative Development for Warner Bros Greg Silverman told Deadline that it's set for a 2018 release.