Standalone Batman Movie Won't Be Rushed, Says Ben Affleck

It has been rumored some some time that Ben Affleck's standalone Batman movie could arrive in 2018, but an official release date is yet to be set. Now Affleck himself has provided an update as to the film's progress and revealed that he isn't rushing to get it ready for production.

At a Q&A to promote his latest movie Live By Night, Affleck was asked when fans could expect to see his Batman film. "I'm a real believer in not reverse engineering projects to meet a window or a date, but rather when you get the right story, the right idea, the right thing, then you make the movie," he said, via Batman-News. "That's what we're doing, and I'm hoping to get that done. I'm spending a lot of time working on that, but also working on other stuff."

Affleck went to explain that it was important that he didn't just churn out a repeat of previous films. "There's nothing I'd love more than to direct a standalone iconic, great Batman movie," he said. "But it's been done. Chris Nolan did three really great movies. I'm really mindful of that. I'm not in any hurry to jam the mediocre movie down the pipe.

"I really want to make sure, if we do it, we get the great version and one that's worthy of tradition of guys like Tim Burton, Chris Nolan, and Christian Bale."

It was confirmed last week that Aquaman would be released in October 2018, leaving July 27 free in DC's schedule and leading to speculation that Batman could take that slot. In September, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes stated that it was "a year and a half out." The following month, Jeremy Irons, who plays Alfred in DC's movies, told Variety that "Ben's going to make a Batman film next summer," which again points towards a 2018 release.

In August, Affleck released some early test footage of Deathstroke, who is confirmed as the villain in the movie. A week later, it was confirmed that Joe Manganiello had been cast in the role.

In an interview last month, Manganiello hinted at what we can expect from Affleck's film. "His take is a fresh take but I think the audience is going to be surprised," he said, via Comicbookmovie. "It's a road that no one's really gone down that's completely integral to who Batman is. And I think it's gonna be refreshing but at the same time completely familiar. But it's going to take this franchise in a direction that I think a lot of people are going to be really happy about.

"It's going to be gritty and action packed and cerebral and all of those elements that people love about Batman."