Okay, so let’s recap: Ben Affleck was directing The Batman, then Ben Affleck wasn’t directing The Batman. Then Warner Bros. was in talks with War of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves to take over The Batman, then those talks ended. Now Warner Bros. has officially found their director for The Batman… and it’s Matt Reeves after all.
It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out. No, not that Warner Bros. had a tricky job replacing Ben Affleck as the director of The Batman. That was always going to give them a migraine. But it really makes you wonder whether it was worth reporting that Matt Reeves was in talks to direct The Batman and then that he wasn’t, when all we had to do was wait for Warner Bros. to make an official statement.
Also: The 18 Films of Tim Burton: Ranked from Worst to Best
We all could have been going about our lives and dealing with more important matters instead of getting worked up, in even the slightest way, over a behind the scenes deal before it was finalized. The big story here is that Matt Reeves is officially directing The Batman, obviously, but the announcement makes so much of the recent online speculation redundant that it really does make you want to reassess your priorities, doesn’t it?
For example, in the wake of Warner Bros.’ official announcement (via Coming Soon), some fans have noted that the studio doesn’t mention Ben Affleck in any way whatsoever, even though he’s expected to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Is that a conspiracy or just hype for its own sake? Is there any functional difference?
Either way, aren’t we all just getting worked up over nothing, and aren’t we all just spinning our wheels until the studio makes a formal announcement about Ben Affleck’s involvement one way or the other?
Anyway, Matt Reeves is directing the next Batman movie. That’s all we really know for now, and even that’s subject to change. Remember that life is impermanent and try to focus on what really matters, whether or not that involves Batman.
The Top Ten Best Ben Affleck Movies:
Top Photo: Warner Bros.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The 10 Best Ben Affleck Movies
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10. Hollywodland (2006)
A great movie trapped inside a middling movie. Hollywoodland stars Ben Affleck as George Reeves, the actor who rose to fame as TV’s Superman, only to suffer when his newfound notoriety ruins all his other career prospects. Affleck is superb but the film cuts away from him too often, focusing instead on a detective (Adrien Brody) investigating Reeves’ untimely death, whose story isn’t nearly as involving.
Photo: Universal Studios
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9. The Town (2010)
One of the better contemporary heist movies, The Town is the story of a bank robber (Affleck) who becomes romantically involved with a woman who became involved in one of his crimes. The plot contrivances are The Town’s weakest points. What really matters are the impressive performances (especially Jeremy Renner, as Affleck’s unstable accomplice) and Affleck’s you-are-there filmmaking.
Photo: Warner Bros.
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8. To the Wonder (2013)
Terrence Malick’s bittersweet romance removes most of the biggest bullet points from a relationship, and shows instead the fleeting, vivid moments of tranquility, anxiety and regret. To the Wonder plays like a dip inside the memory of Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko’s characters. It may not be conventionally entertaining, but you will feel this movie in your soul.
Photo: Magnolia Pictures
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7. The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Ben Affleck was poised to take over the popular Jack Ryan movie franchise from Harrison Ford, but the poor timing of this terrorist thriller (which came out shortly after the real-life tragedy of 9/11) doomed it to knee-jerk criticism and unimpressive box office returns. Still, Affleck is rock solid in this crackerjack political flick, about fascists who goad America and Russia right back to the brink of World War III.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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6. Argo (2012)
It may not be Ben Affleck’s best film, but this Best Picture winner is still smart and excellent. Affleck directs and plays CIA agent Tony Mendez, who has to fabricate a big budget Hollywood blockbuster in order to extricate six American citizens from Tehran during the infamous hostage crisis. Argo’s most exciting moments are also its most fabricated, and yet that doesn’t really matter while you’re pinned the edge of your seat.
Photo: Warner Bros.
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5. Good Will Hunting (1997)
Ben Affleck won his first Academy Award for co-writing this seminal 1990s indie drama, about a math prodigy who refuses to leave his blue collar Boston life behind in favor of a more promising future. Acting-wise, Good Will Hunting belongs to Matt Damon (who won the lead role from Affleck in a coin toss) and Robin Williams, who plays the protagonist’s unusual therapist. But Affleck steals most of his scenes, particularly a laugh out loud bit where he impersonates his brilliant best buddy.
Photo: Miramax Films
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4. Chasing Amy (1997)
Kevin Smith’s most dramatically ambitious film stars Ben Affleck as a comic book illustrator who falls in love with a lesbian, played by Joey Lauren Adams. The sexual politics of Chasing Amy were daring at the time, and perhaps a little “iffy” by contemporary social standards, but Affleck is great during the many frank conversations Smith’s screenplay gives him about love, sex, jealousy and the dangers of a conventional mindset (and the dangers of breaking out of it).
Photo: Miramax Films
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3. Changing Lanes (2002)
An unusual and powerful thriller, Roger Michell’s Changing Lanes stars Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson as two men who keep getting in each other’s way, wrecking each other’s lives by accident and eventually by cruel intention. Affleck is great as the smarmy businessman who thinks he’s a better person than he really is, encouraging audience members to ask similar, disturbing questions about themselves.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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2. Gone Girl (2014)
David Fincher’s sadistic and cynical thriller, based on the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn, stars Affleck as a husband whose wife disappears under mysterious circumstances, and who becomes the #1 suspect under the harsh spotlights of 21st century media scrutiny. It’s a nail biter through and through, but when the twists start unraveling Gone Girl evolves into a truly lurid, damning exploration of a modern marriage.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
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1. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Ben Affleck’s directorial debut stars his brother, Casey, and Michelle Monaghan as private detectives investigating the disappearance of a little girl. It’s a crackerjack mystery, and when all is finally revealed, Gone Baby Gone becomes a complex conversation about morality that will leave audience members questioning their own principles. Moreso than any other Ben Affleck movie, this is the one that will linger in your mind for days, weeks, even years.
Photo: Miramax Films
