ben affleck

Rough year for Ben Affleck, noted Jennifer Garner spouse and one-time star of Gigli. His big starring vehicle Batman v Superman made a whole lot of money but was critically reviled almost across the board, his latest directorial effort Live by Night got a quiet and unceremonious limited release that was buried in the holiday craziness, he was spotted sadly vaping in a car, and now a pall of uncertainty has been cast over his future. He’s confirmed for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League crossover, but Affleck’s relationship with the Dark Knight’s cowl and cape may be getting a bit strained. In a new interview, Affleck indicated that what was once presumed to be set in stone is, in fact, still up for debate.

We all know that Ben Affleck’s performance as Batman was one of the few things both critics and fans of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice could completely agree on. From his shallow playboy persona as Bruce Wayne to his thinly veiled rage as the Dark Knight, Affleck’s take on the character got everyone very excited to see what the actor-writer-director could do with a free hand for his standalone The Batman movie. Unfortunately, things have slowed considerably since, with rumors of mediocre scripts and a shifting release date taking some of the buzz off the upcoming release.

One of the biggest problems (and one that we’ve covered quite a bit) with Warner Bros’ DCEU is the way the studio is reverse-engineering its Justice League franchise. Instead of establishing their characters in individual films and slowly building toward a big crossover, they’ve done the reverse. And by building their productions around meeting a release date deadline, they wind up with films that are kind of a mess. If Ben Affleck’s approach to his Batman standalone film (and the recent decision to delay Justice League 2) is any indication, then maybe — just maybe — WB is learning from their mistakes.

With all the heroes joining Batman and Wonder Woman (and Superman) in Justice League, plus almost all of them getting their own solo movies, it’s almost impossible to find room for them all. Warner Bros. recently did a bit of reshuffling with their slate of films, and pushed back the release of Justice League: Part 2, which until now had had a mid-2019 spot, to make room for Ben Affleck’s Batman movie. And now that Snyder has some free time on his hands, he’s turning his attention to Afghanistan war thriller The Last Photograph.

Excited about more Batfleck in The Batman? No one is more pumped for it than Ben Affleck himself, probably, but Joe Manganiello’s enthusiasm comes pretty close. While appearing on a podcast this week, he said all the right things about the standalone Batman movie that have us feeling hopeful that maybe the DC cinematic universe’s darkest days could be behind it.

The future of the DC Cinematic Universe is filled with lots of mystery. We don’t know what that second Justice League film we be called, nor do we have many details on Aquaman and Shazam. But we might finally have an idea as to when Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie will hit theaters.

Following Batman v Superman’s underwhelming box office, DC’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns was promoted to the position of creative head for WB’s DC Film franchise, overseeing the studio’s upcoming slate of comic-book movies. In addition to co-writing the new solo Batman film with Ben Affleck, Johns (who recently confirmed Joe Manganiello’s casting as DC villain Deathstroke) is heavily involved with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and in a new interview, the exec reveals how they’re making some adjustments to address complaints about Snyder’s Dawn of Justice.

There were a lot of rumors about perennial DC Comics bad guys Deathstroke the Terminator showing up in Suicide Squad. He’s gonna be in the movie! (He wasn’t.) He’s gonna be a hired assassin competing with the Suicide Squad! (He didn’t.) He’s the breakout character in the movie! (He wasn’t.) Scott Eastwood’s gonna play him! (He didn’t.) So, so many stories about this character who wound up not being in the movie at all, in any way.

Matt Damon has done a lot of things: He’s played a super spy, a con-man, an informant, an astronaut, a genius, and all sorts of fun characters who could also be action figures. The one thing he hasn’t done yet is play a superhero, and according to the star of Jason Bourne, that’s something he’d be willing to do for the right director — like maybe his BFF Ben Affleck.

We’re revisiting some of the most high-profile cheating scandals of all time, from Hugh Grant to Usher.

These famous couples discovered romance on set, and it lasted well after they shot their last scenes together.

Early details on The Accountant made the new film from Warrior director Gavin O’Connor sound like it was based on a graphic novel, even though it’s not: Ben Affleck stars as a white collar accountant who leads a double-life as a lethal assassin. So it wasn’t really surprising when WB announced plans to release a tie-in comic book for The Accountant. What is a bit surprising is the tone of the first trailer, which presents an intriguing and off-kilter drama about a man struggling with a vague mental disorder.