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6 Things We Want From A Ben Affleck Batman Movie

It is March already people, March. That obviously means that Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice is opening this month. In about a week, we will have seen Ben Affleck take his first bow as Bruce Wayne. I figured that means now is the perfect time to look straight past that and speculate as to what will happen in the upcoming, as yet untitled, Batman solo movie. So here it is, my view on what we want from the forthcoming Ben Affleck Batman movie.

 

Sidekick.

The last time a live action Batman had a sidekick was in 1997 for the god awful Batman & Robin, when we got two for the price of one with both Robin and Batgirl. Joseph Gordon Levitt gave us a character who happened to be named Robin, but it wasn’t the same. With Affleck’s Batman being an older version of the Dark Knight, it stands to reason that Carrie Kelly would make an appearance. It doesn’t even need to be Robin; Jena Malone‘s character, who is said to be Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, has been cut from Batman v Superman, so she could return for a future Batman solo movie.

Fresh Villains.

I am in no way saying we need a whole new villain; I don’t think I trust Affleck that much yet as a writer. However, there are so many villains in Batman’s history that we haven’t seen on the silver screen already. Under The Red Hood is a story Batman fan’s have been clamouring for for a long time. Neither of the villains Red Hood or Black Mask have ever been in a live action Batman movie. The story has space for Jared Leto to make a cameo, but not take over as the main villain.

Speaking of cameos…

Dawn Of Justice seems to be quite filled with characters. From Aquaman, Cyborg and the Waynes, to The Flash and Scoot McNairy‘s unnamed character, it certainly seems that this movie is going to be crammed with cameos and Easter eggs. I don’t want to see this many cameos in the upcoming Batman movie, but if they are going to put all these characters in the film, don’t put them in the trailer! I think we can all agree that seeing Doomsday in the trailer was as disappointing as it was exciting.

Origin Story.

The story of what made Bruce Wayne the Batman is one we all know; and if you don’t know how the Dark Knight got his groove, then I’m not entirely sure what you are doing here. We don’t need to see that story again, especially so soon after Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. With Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan playing Ma and Pa Wayne in Dawn Of Justice, it seems fairly obvious that the origin will be visited in some way then, so lets keep it out of any future visits to Gotham.

What’s Next?

Speaking of Nolan’s trilogy, at the end of Batman Begins, Gordon presented Bats with a playing card belonging to the Joker. This was setting up a future installment perfectly. But these days, films have a tendency to more like a 120 minute long trailer for the next movie in the lineup. I don’t want to see this movie, that I know we are all massively looking forward to, only existing to further the DCEU.

R Rated?

I loved Deadpool. It is violent, profane and just perfect for a Deadpool movie; but that doesn’t mean that all comic book movies will benefit from it. Some Batman stories would benefit from an R rating. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth being rated PG-13 would be ridiculous, but there are lots of stories which work perfectly well with a lower age rating. If the story calls for an R rating, that’s fine, but don’t try to wedge a gratuitous violence and blood into a place where it does not fit.

So that’s what I think we could do with in the upcoming Ben Affleck Batman role. Don’t agree? Are you looking for something else out of the portrayal? Let me know in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!

About the author

Mark Warner