The Bigger Problems With Ben Affleck, Batman, and the DCMU in General.

While the majority of the backlash has been in regards to Ben Affleck’s acting abilities, and how well people think he will be able to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman respectively.

Looking at the bigger picture however, there are SO many other issues at hand right now when looking at the plans that WB has moving forward with their DC movie universe. The following are some of what I think are some bigger problems than simply the actor playing the dark knight.

1.) Introducing Batman in a Man of Steel sequel.
Up until this point, all official reports have stated that this film will be a direct sequel to Man of Steel. This hasn’t stopped most writers and fans from referring to the film as “Batman vs. Superman” or “World’s Finest”. It still remains to be seen what the division of story and screen-time becomes, but I think it’s a lose-lose situation either way.

On one hand, if you focus on Superman with Batman as an ancillary character, it is pretty much a waste of Batman. There wouldn’t be enough time to truly develop this new version, and it’d be pretty much a clear sign that WB is trying to boost ticket sales solely off of name recognition. On the other hand, if you give both characters equal screen time, the film takes away from Superman. In my opinion, despite many viewers’ misgivings, Man of Steel was a good introductory Superman film. A direct Man of Steel 2 could delve so much deeper into Superman/ Clark Kent as a character, and I think the addition of Batman right away takes care of that.

2.) Ben Affleck
I don’t believe Ben Affleck’s acting ability would be an issue. While Daredevil as a film was pretty bad, he has had some pretty decent acting gigs in the past. Two other issues arise however when looking at Ben Affleck. The first is how much of a recognizable name he is. Good or bad, he has star power. I think the casting of Henry Cavill as Superman was great. He hasn’t been around the block long enough to be recognizable just as an actor. When seeing him on screen, I really felt like I was seeing Superman, not Henry Cavill in a Superman suit. I think that with how big of a name he is, I (along with many other audience members) may not be able to see the new Batman as anything other than Ben Affleck in a Batman costume.

The other problem with Ben Affleck is his age. Robert Downey Jr and Hugh Jackman have both expressed how much more difficult their Marvel roles have become with time, due to the demanding nature of filming action sequences. With casting the 41 year old Affleck, how many more years does WB think they can get out of him before he can’t handle the physical demands of portraying Batman? Why do they even want an older Bruce Wayne? Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to cast a younger, fresh faced actor as the Dark Knight in order to add possibly another decade to the longevity of their new post-Nolan franchise?
Speaking of age, that brings me to my next issue…

3.) Rumored source material
As far back as the initial reveal at comicon, it has been stated that The Dark Knight Returns would be a major basis for this upcoming film. From a story perspective, I think this is such a wrong way to go. The Dark Knight Returns features an older grizzled Batman. He’s been around for quite some time, and is pretty angry and bitter. This type of portrayal for a new franchise puts WB into a huge story rut from a writing perspective. It will be way more difficult to put out future Batman solo films if it is established that he has been around for 10+ years, and assuming he has already faced off against a majority of his rogues gallery.

Another fault with adapting from The Dark Knight Returns is the core relationship between Batman and Superman. In that book, they are portrayed as pretty vicious adversaries, with Batman especially having the goal to really hurt (if not kill) Superman. This is my least favorite portrayal of their relationship. My favorite has been from the Superman/Batman monthly comic that ran from 2003-2011. That series showed them as close friends, who had slightly differing views on how to achieve their respective goals. I think making them bitter enemies in the upcoming film will rob viewers of some great stories about their friendship, as well as cause problems for WB should they try to have them team up for a future Justice League film. Obviously they have to clash at some point, but I think the best way to have this would be more as a misunderstanding of each other’s goals (thing Iron Man vs. Thor scene from Avengers).

4.) Warner Brothers control over DCMU.
The final issue I see with future DC films has to do with the higher up execs at Warner Brothers. Plain and simple, they are afraid to take a chance on any of the other characters from the DC comics universe. Batman and Superman have been their only true success stories, and therefore they are trying to milk them for all they’re worth. If done properly, they could make SO much more money by branching out to other characters, and by truly paving the way to a Justice League movie. There is no shame in following Marvel Studio’s formula. Clearly they have been reluctant to move beyond their two biggest cash cows, even in their animated features, and the abysmal performance (and quality) of Green Lantern doesn’t help. If done properly (comic book fans/writers instead of movie script writers who don’t know the source material), Warner Brothers could be sitting on a huge gold mine.

I hope my editorial brought up some good thinking points. Sound off in the space below with your thoughts, and let me know how I did with my first posting.