*UPDATE* VillainSmash has totally debunked reports of Ben Affleck signing on for multiple Batman movies. They say Warner Bros. probably has every intention of keeping Affleck under their umbrella, but Affleck isn't going to extend his contract until he's near the end of it. Oh well! It may still happen; it just isn't happening yet.
Signing on to be part of DC's Cinematic Universe has made life much busier for Ben Affleck, and it's affecting every other non-superhero project he's attached to. The greatest impact has been on his directorial career, as he has been set to direct an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's crime novel, Live by Night, only to have his commitments to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice bump it from a Christmas 2015 release date to October of this year. But apparently that's not going to cut it, either, and the film is getting moved again, while another Affleck film, The Account, is also getting shifted around.
Warner Bros. has moved Live by Night to an undermined date in 2017, with filming to begin this November. It wouldn't be totally surprising if the film gets moved yet again given his upcoming commitments. He's got to do press for Batman v Superman soon, and he'll also need to stop and take time to pen the solo Batman movie he'll be directing and co-writing with Geoff Johns. Warner Bros. wants him to complete work on that first before moving on to Live by Night, so he's going to be plenty busy, and that doesn't even include the break he'll need next spring to shoot Justice League Part One.
Taking over the vacated October 7th 2016 date will be the assassin drama, The Accountant, which Affleck is to star in for director Gavin O'Connor. This may actually be a better spot than the January 2016 slot it held previously as this is the same weekend that served Gravity and Argo well for Warner Bros. in the past. The film co-stars Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, centering on a mild-mannered government accountant who moonlights as an assassin.
And all of this date shuffling could get messier if the latest rumor from Den of Geek turns out to be true. Apparently an early screening of Batman v Superman was shown to studio execs and the film's crew, and Warner Bros. is said to be so happy with the film they're ready to expand their deal with Affleck. Rather than the solo Batman movie he's currently set for, this new deal would him up for an entire trilogy as the "Dark Knight", possibly holding the role for the next decade. According to their source, Affleck's Batman would be positioned as the centerpiece of Warner Bros.' DC Comics universe.
Warner Bros. is making all of the right moves to try and accommodate Affleck's artistic ambitions, and it remains to be seen if everything will work as they hope. [Deadline]
