News of DCEU films having major issues seems to be a recurring thing for Warner Bros., but despite those rumors, the films have been huge box office draws. So it doesn’t come as any surprise that there are new rumors that Ben Affleck‘s The Batman has issues of its own, despite the fact that the Batman v Superman star will direct and co-write the script with Geoff Johns. But there appears to be much more to it than that. It appears that Warner Bros. doesn’t seem to care at all. Check out the full story here below.
Again, we have to stress that this is nothing more than just a rumor at this point, which comes from American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis (via The Ringer). According to him, executives have been talking to each other about the “serious problems the script has,” and that the studio has told these executives that they don’t care, and that the film is going to make money anyway. Here’s the full quote:
I was having dinner with a couple of executives who know other executives who are working on the [forthcoming] Batman movie, The Batman. And they were just telling me that there are serious problems with the script. And that the executives I was having dinner with were complaining about people who work on the Batman movie. And they just said they went to the studio and they said, “˜Look, the script is “¦ Here’s 30 things that are wrong with it that we can fix.’ And [the executives] said, “˜We don’t care. We don’t really care. The amount of money we’re going to make globally, I mean 70 percent of our audience is not going to be seeing this in English. And it doesn’t really matter, these things that you’re bringing up about the flaws of the script.’ So I do think global concerns play a big part in how movies, and what movies, are being made, obviously.
While the rumor sounds bleak, there is no reason to think that these executives are wrong. From a monetary standpoint, yes, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad made more overseas than they did here in the United States. This isn’t just an isolated incident either. Pacific Rim did horrible at the box office in the States, but was a huge hit overseas, particularly in China. Now it’s on its way to getting a sequel.
Another thing is the fact that Ellis was speaking offhand and not necessarily breaking any sort of news. While The Batman is expected to start shooting next year, there is no reason to believe that Affleck and Johns are not working on the script now. Again, we’ve all heard these rumors before, and none of them seemed to have any effect on the box office numbers.
It’s not as though we want these films to fail; again, there is enough room in this world for two superhero shared cinematic universes to exist. Yes, The Flash is reportedly experiencing some issues, but WB is bringing in some excellent filmmakers to right the ship. Patty Jenkins with Wonder Woman, James Wan with Aquaman, and Affleck with The Batman.
Also starring Joe Manganiello, who is set to play Deathstroke, The Batman is eyeing a 2018 or 2019 release.
[Source: The Ringer]
Is the script even complete yet? Not going to worry about off-hand comments from a writer who had dinner with executives who know other executives that are working on something that isn’t finished being written.
Comment by PAUL — November 7, 2016 @ 2:05 pm