[SDCC’15] Regarding that Affleck/Johns Caped Crusader movie

So several sites are jumping on the news that Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns are collaborating on a new Batman movie to come out after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the Justice League movie. Is it legit?

As I’ve said before, until the studios come out and say it is so, then it is only a hot rumor, and this hot rumor comes from Deadline that posted the story this afternoon. This of course has the internet all abuzz with many sites saying it is absolutely true, with no other source than the Deadline author.

Now Latino Review is saying this story is all but confirmed, because THEY heard from their inside sources months ago that this was going to happen. Fine, let Latino Review claim that they had it first… they haven’t revealed the title of the direction of the movie, have they?

I hear it is being called “Caped Crusader,” which is a step up from the original title, “The Goddamn Batfleck!”

So what makes this hot rumor seem more legit than Johnny Depp playing Doctor Strange?

Well, way back when Ben Affleck was announced as Batman, there were reports that part of the negotiation involved Affleck directing a WB/DC movie if he signed on. Justice League already has a director (Zack Snyder), so that means Ben would have to look for something else to focus his attention on. The actor/director has also gone on record that the reason he decided to play the Caped Crusader is because his kids were at that age where he would get a lot more “cred” from them. Without getting into the dirty laundry of his personal life, another Batman film – one that has him bringing in acting AND directing monies would be a really good deal right about now.

Geoff Johns isn’t a slouch, the Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics, he has the sway to push a new Batman movie to the forefront, and with his stints on the Batman Earth One graphic novels, he and Ben may already have a lead on getting the script done.

So are the Caped Crusader rumors true? Not until DC says so, but with Saturday’s big Warner Bros. panel focusing a lot of the world of DC Comics, I think we may hear something about the Caped Crusader when the WB updates its movie slate.