Ben Affleck is apparent the target of Warner Bros. for their Justice League live-action film. Depending on who you believe, Affleck doesn’t seem too interested in taking on the herculean task.
The Affleck rumors began earlier today when Variety ran a story claiming Warner Bros. has approached Affleck’s camp about taking on Justice League and will be meeting with the actor/director/writer in the coming days. They claim “multiple sources” are backing up the story and that Affleck has already been sent the script by Will Beall that was commissioned last year.
This evening, Deadline ran a followup story full of unnecessary attitude that claimed their sources are saying Affleck has no interest in being involved on any level with Warner Bros. Justice League project. He would meet with the studio to discuss it as a courtesy, but that’s as far as his involvement would go.
Affleck’s name coming up for Justice League isn’t that far of a stretch. With Christopher Nolan not interested in pursuing DC Comics films after three turns with Batman for the studio, Affleck is next in line as one of Warner Bros. most commercially viable directors. He hit it big writing, directing and starring in The Town, and his next film for Warner Bros., Argo, is shaping up to be equally as successful.
Whoever takes on Justice League will carry the weight of the DC Comics superhero world on their shoulders. Warner Bros. tried once to get a Justice League film off the ground before and had to pull the plug when an Australian tax credit failed to come through. Word on the street is the film wouldn’t have been any good had it actually been shot.
Where Kevin Feige and Marvel plotted out the path to The Avengers over several years and films, and let Joss Whedon steer The Avengers story and direction, Warner Bros. will be attaching a director to a project whose story is already in the can. The only creative input would be in how the film is shot.
Warner Bros. smells dollars in Justice League after The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time. They’d love to get their superhero team-up with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash and Wonder Woman into theaters by 2015, the same summer Marvel and Disney are expected to unleash The Avengers 2 with Joss Whedon steering the ship again.
The Ben Affleck and Warner Bros. Justice League could go either way so expect an update one way or the other in the coming days.
Sources: Variety and Deadline
