THE BATMAN: Storyboard From Ben Affleck's Scrapped Movie Shows The Dark Knight Battling Deathstroke

THE BATMAN: Storyboard From Ben Affleck's Scrapped Movie Shows The Dark Knight Battling Deathstroke

Ben Affleck's version of The Batman never became a reality, but we have a new storyboard from the scrapped movie today showing The Dark Knight squaring off with Deathstroke in Gotham City. Check it out!

By JoshWilding - Sep 22, 2024 06:09 AM EST
Filed Under: The Batman

The negative critical response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League left Ben Affleck with doubts about continuing as the DC Extended Universe's Caped Crusader.

While he wrote a screenplay alongside Geoff Johns, the actor ultimately chose to walk away from the director's chair of The Batman. He even hung up the cape and cowl - meaning Matt Reeves could reboot the hero with Robert Pattinson - until his brief return in The Flash last year.

That was meant to lead to bigger things but...we all know how that turned out. 

Little has been revealed about Affleck's The Batman. However, it's believed Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) would arrive in Gotham City looking for revenge, with Zack Snyder's Justice League confirming the plan was for Lex Luthor to tell the assassin who's beneath the cape and cowl (payback for being locked in Arkham Asylum at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).

Storyboard artist Jay Oliva worked on Affleck and Johns' The Batman and, to celebrate "Batman Day" yesterday, he shared more of his work from the movie. As you can see below, it showcases an action-packed battle as the Dark Knight squares off with the Terminator. 

"I can't really say too much other than it was f***ing awesome," Oliva previously said of The Batman. "It was the best. It was amazing."

"From my understanding, there were a couple of drafts of it. When I was brought on, I don't know whether it was the second draft or something, but it was what Geoff Johns and Ben [Affleck] had shown me."

"Ben's story was gonna cover something that had never really been covered in comics but was building off of storylines in the Batman mythos over the last 80 years and approaching it from a new kind of perspective," he continued. "It was very clever and there were a lot of things about it that I really loved that I wish that had come to fruition."

"It was a really great project in the beginning. Ben had to step away for personal reasons, and I totally understood, but the time that I spent with Ben working on the project was fantastic."

The artist is a longtime collaborator of Zack Snyder's and, as well as working on the filmmaker's DCEU movies, they recently reunited for Netflix's animated Twilight of the Gods

We'll never know how good this version of The Batman would have been, though it's hard to complain too much about it not happening, particularly when it's given us Matt Reeves' "The Batman Epic Crime Saga."

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ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 9/22/2024, 6:50 AM
Damn shame, if it was remotely good as the Arkham Origins cutscene fight between the two this could've been badass.
Gambito
Gambito - 9/22/2024, 7:18 AM
Glad that Ben stayed the hell away from Batman can’t believe he went back to being a joke 🤦🏼
GodHercules20
GodHercules20 - 9/22/2024, 7:38 AM
The only movie I wanted to see from DECU

What could've been

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Instead we got Nolan wannabe The Batman
Fogs
Fogs - 9/22/2024, 7:53 AM
@GodHercules20 - Same.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 9/22/2024, 7:43 AM
I think Affleck was scared it was gonna flop. And once he said he didn't wanna direct it, WB decided to reboot. For whatever reason, they waited several months after hiring Reeves, to announce it.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 9/22/2024, 7:57 AM
@99OPTIMISTPRIME - If he was scared it was going to flop, it was because he knew he wasn't satisfied with his story and script. He wouldn't have been scared of it being a flop, he would have been concerned about making a good movie, the right movie.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 9/22/2024, 2:59 PM
@IAmAHoot - What's been revealed about the script, sounds more interesting than terrible. And imagine how many talented writers he would've had at his disposal, to help him polish off the script


I think Affleck was never really sure, how well his Batman had been received by the general audience. And that along with the JL movie's failure, made him drop out.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 9/22/2024, 7:55 AM
I can't help but feel that we wouldn't have gotten anything special with Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke...
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/22/2024, 8:15 AM
@IAmAHoot - maybe we could have but it’s not a casting choice that made me excited

I do feel bad that the guy never really got to show what he could do though in the role (the bits we got he seemed fine in)

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HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 9/22/2024, 10:41 AM
@IAmAHoot -

I don’t think so either.

The Batman was probably the better way to go, even though it’s frustrating that’s it’s not in the DCU. But after seeing the first episode of Penguin, Reeves definitely needs to keep cooking.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/22/2024, 9:11 PM
@IAmAHoot - Guy can't act
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/22/2024, 9:12 PM
@HulkisHoly - couldn't be more glad it's not in the DCU honestly.
IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 9/22/2024, 9:27 PM
@McMurdo - And his goatee looked fake too.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/22/2024, 10:46 AM
Cool I guess…

I think this could have been fun with Deathstroke seemingly going after Batman for revenge since it was implied he at the least was the one that gouged his eye out in this version(if not moreso) thus him dismantling Bruce’s life with influences that ranged from Knightfall to Batman:Arkham Asylum aswell as films like The Game & James Bond series but oh well.

However, it is odd that this would be the another straight iteration of the character that seeks revenge against the titular character(s) since both Manu Bennett & Esai Morales’s takes in Arrow & Titans had their own motivations for that also.

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I know those shows didn’t have the appeal that this movie would have but still.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 9/22/2024, 12:02 PM
Can’t build a movie around a video game cut scene, man. And that’s exactly what this pitch was.
dragon316
dragon316 - 9/22/2024, 12:13 PM
Sucks never see it
valmic
valmic - 9/22/2024, 12:40 PM
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emeraldtaurus
emeraldtaurus - 9/22/2024, 1:07 PM
Affleck was right to bail ! The DCEU just went from bad to worse !. Aside from Ezra Miller the casting was spot on right across the board. Shame the movies were so sloppy. Hopefully James Gunn cam turn it around.
PartyKiller
PartyKiller - 9/22/2024, 1:53 PM
The worst thing about Affleck's unmade POS was that it caused WB to take Slade Wilson away from the Arrowverse right after he returned.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 9/22/2024, 2:09 PM

The SnyderVerse was awful of course. But Affleck was a SH!TTY Batman.

1stDalek
1stDalek - 9/22/2024, 2:10 PM
Affleck was never happy with the script & personal issues compounded on that, we'll probably never know why he even picked Deathstroke if he couldn't crack the story around the conflict. I think focusing on a lone wolf villain was a big issue at the end of the day, Deathstroke is a mercenary, thus rarely an ideal big bad for a movie like this.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 9/22/2024, 2:46 PM
@1stDalek - yeah

I guess that’s why Deathstroke is always given a personal vendetta when he’s called upon to be the Big Bad in live action or even some animated stuff (Teen titans just straight up had him as a mastermind)

Otherwise he has no reason to get involved with the money isn’t there
Forthas
Forthas - 9/22/2024, 2:55 PM
Afflecks Batman was such a disgrace I have no faith this film would have been any good.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 9/22/2024, 4:30 PM
Hey, at least we got Manu Bennett. It wasn’t in some big budget movie and I don’t think all of the acting was great on that show, but his acting was great. One of the best comic book TV show villains. Now, if it was just comic TV show villains, i’d have to go with
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HermanM
HermanM - 9/22/2024, 8:16 PM
Good riddance
Humperdoo
Humperdoo - 9/22/2024, 10:25 PM
Matt Reeves' "The Batman Epic Crime Saga." Lmao. Epic is not a word that comes to mind.
sully
sully - 9/26/2024, 2:25 AM
@Humperdoo - It's the exact opposite of epic. I found the first movie to be an unmemorable yawnfest.
SuperSpiderMan5
SuperSpiderMan5 - 9/22/2024, 10:32 PM
I'll say it before and I'll say it again. Using Batfleck for a Batman movie based on the Under the Red Hood story arc was such a missed opportunity. They teased it in the B v S movie and just never followed through. What a shame. But I guess boring ass The Batman was what the fans wanted right? If it's anything Warner Bros should learn from Deadpool and Wolverine, give the fans what they want and you'll have great success.
Cass
Cass - 9/23/2024, 4:06 AM
Surprised by a lot of the comments here. I thought Affleck was great, just in some rotten movies. I actually assumed he was quite popular in the role, despite the films not being great.

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