Following the abrupt announcement that Ben Affleck would be stepping down as directing, Warner Bros. will now have to scramble to find a replacement for the upcoming Batman solo film. Rumors have been circulating since the news about the vacancy in the director’s chair broke last week, with several names floating around.
According to Forbes that shortlist prospects includes Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), George Miller (Mad Max), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior, The Accountant),Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic) and Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Arrival). While it’s unknown who the front runner will be, the most popular director at the moment seems to be Villeneuve.
With a growing science fiction portfolio following his critically acclaimed 2016 film The Arrival, Villeneuve was just recently confirmed to take the helm of the Legendary pictures upcoming Dune reboot. Before that, the Canadian film director has been tasked with the sequel to the cult classic film Blade Runner (titled Blade Runner 2049), so while he’d be a perfect fit for Batman, Villeneuve’s schedule at the moment seems a little packed.
While DC hasn’t begun to panic quite yet, stating that they expect to announce the new director soon, finding directors has been a frequent problem for other future DC movies as well. As it stands The Flash movie has already has already seen the departure of two different directors and is now getting a complete rewrite.
But it seems The Flash wasn’t the only one to get a script overhaul, as it was recently revealed recently that screenwriter Chris Terrio has rewritten the solo Batman’s script. Originally written by Affleck and Geoff Johns, that now makes two of roles that have been since abolished for Ben Affleck since the films outset.
Affleck will still star and produce the solo Batman film, but rumors have even begun to circulate around his long term involvement in the franchise. Despite all these issues, Warner Bros. is adamant that it won’t rush the decisions for any of their movies.
