Filmsane

Last year, Ben Affleck stepped down from directing the upcoming The Batman movie, and Matt Reeves stepped in. But due to new turn of events, Reeves might be rebooting the franchise and without Affleck in the role of The Dark Knight. Yup. According to Deadline, Matt Reeves will reboot The Batman Franchise and replace Ben Affleck with another actor. (Pause for a clap)

Deadline reports are suggesting that Affleck will be exiting Reeves’ Batman movie and the DCEU altogether. The news outlet claims that Reeves wants to reboot Batman as a “standalone franchise, but nothing is confirmed yet. However, if it turns out to be true… I can see this move being a half decent idea for the DC Extended Universe. Let me tell you why. If you take a good look at the upcoming movies line-up from DCEU, you’ll notice 4 solo movie projects in development (and one of those is a sequel). Aquaman, Shazam!, Cyborg and Wonder Woman 2 are already in different stages of development, and with release dates spanning all the way to 2020. Can’t forget about the 2 Joker movies that are also prepping in DCEU studios, and also Bird of Prey and Gotham City Sirens on the villain side of the spectrum.

The fans will be much more familiar with the extended DC characters throughout these movies, but it’s good to have a good old and very familiar hero spicing things up at the movie theaters. And who’s to say that another reboot is a bad idea? I mean Christopher Nolan did a superb job with the Dark Knight trilogy, and Spider-Man Homecoming is another example of a good reboot done all over again.

As for the director… Well… looking at Matt Reeve’s career and what he did with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), and i have no doubt that will do a fine job all over again with another great franchise- even without Ben in the cast. Reeves brought style, substance and much darker tone (kinda like what Nolan did) to the Planet of the Apes franchise and made it not only profitable but critically acclaimed in the latter 2 movies. So, i think it’s wise for him to move on without the Academy Award winner in the lead role.

Oh, and why should Ben leave this role to someone more suitable? Because he’s not at his best anymore. Admit it. If you were paying attention to his performance in last year’s Justice League you’ve probably noticed how exhausted and bloated he looked on camera. Dressed in the Bat-Suit, he looked bloated and fat, and it showed. Sure he tried to look interested and invested, but the strain of everything around him (the pending divorce, the terrible reviews of his latest movies, the allegations of sexual harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement) proved to be too much even for a sheltered A-list celebrity like him.

That’s why i think it would be best (and let’s face it… wise)  to continue the reboot without him. He wasn’t the only weak link in Justice League, but being back into a solo movie he will be the only one. Much younger and ambitions face would be nice for a change. Someone unknown even better. It’s time for Ben to say goodbye to Bruce Wayne and to Batman. He had his run, and it’s time to make some space for some new dude who can elevate the character to a height that we all know and love. It’s time to let go.