You don't sign on an Academy Award winning director as Batman and then NOT have him direct his own solo feature, do you? According to recent speculation, Ben Affleck is in negotiations to direct himself in an upcoming solo Batman movie, which will probably be released between 2018 and 2020.
The news circulating the Internet at the moment is that Ben Affleck will most likely direct an upcoming solo Batman movie sometime after the release of 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The news also states that Affleck is set to co-write the story alongside comic book writer, long-time DC collaborator and superhero geek Geoff Johns. A few questions have arisen from this news, questions I will give my speculative answers to. Just know these are my own personal opinions and guesses as to what might happen, this is not official by a long shot.
When will it be set?
There are 2 possible time periods in which the film could be set in. The first one is after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League Part 1. It could tell the tale of a Batman post the formation of the Justice League as he tackles a new wave of crime and super-villainy in the city of Gotham.
Or, it could be set way before the events of Batman v Superman. I am strongly suggesting it isn't an origin story simply because we know exactly what that is and we've seen it before many, many times. However, it could take the opportunity to tell a story which has been hinted at in both the Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad trailers. It could take inspiration from "A Death in the Family", telling the story of how a certain Robin was killed.
Who will be the villain?
Batman has an illustrious rogue gallery, and really the possibilities for villains in this solo movie are endless. However, my personal theory is that the villain for this story will be none other than Red Hood, or Jason Todd.
For those of you that don't know, Jason Todd is the second Robin in the comic books who was killed by the Joker in the story arc "A Death in the Family". In the trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we see Bruce Wayne in the Batcave staring at a suit which presumably belonged to a former Robin. In this cinematic universe, I believe that that suit did belong to Jason Todd before he was killed by Jared Leto's Joker. The yellow graffiti "HAHAHA JOKES ON YOU BATMAN" was probably sprayed on the suit by the Joker after he killed Jason Todd. Batman keeps this suit in his Batcave as a constant reminder of his failure.
You see what I'm getting at here? For me, I believe that the solo Batman movie will take inspiration from the "Under the Red Hood" storyline in which Jason Todd returns to Gotham as Red Hood looking to settle a score with his former mentor who failed to protect him. If the trailers are of any valid indication of what could be teased at in Batman v Superman, then this storyline has a strong chance of being translated onto the big screen.
This brings me nicely on to the last question...
Do you believe the "Jared Leto Joker" fan theory?
No.
The fan theory states that in this cinematic universe, Jared Leto's Joker is actually Jason Todd. In my opinion, it is a waste of not just the character of the Joker, but wastes the possibility of having Red Hood appear in a live action Batman movie. If you're going to do the Joker, why not just give us the Joker? I don't think Jared Leto would've taken the role unless he was actually playing the proper Joker.
Those who believe this theory do have some evidence which could point towards it possibly being true, something we've already discussed. Is it possible that the graffiti sprayed on the Robin suit was done by Jason Todd himself sometime during his transformation into the new Joker? If they go this route, I suppose that aspect of the theory does make sense.
However, the rest of it doesn't not to mention the fact you'd waste 2 iconic Batman villains and another Jason Todd centric story which would be just as impactful. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes for me. What motivation would Jason Todd have for creating Harley Quinn? Is Jason's new Joker persona based off of an old Joker who he faced off against with Batman? Does the "old Joker" even exist in this universe? Would Batman's arch nemesis in this cinematic universe not be the real deal?
For me, this theory doesn't make any sense. I don't like it and I don't think we'll see it become true.
Having Ben Affleck direct himself in a solo Batman movie makes perfect sense to me and should this become official I will be very happy. Considering what we've been teased with in the recently released trailers, I think its possible that we could see a film which takes heavy inspiration from "Under the Red Hood" with a presumed dead Jason Todd returning as Red Hood. Yes, we could well see Jared Leto's Joker and Red Hood in the movie together... just not as the same person.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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