Who Could Direct the Batman Movie If Ben Affleck Left?

Even though I don’t think it’ll happen, which directors could step in to replace Ben Affleck if he should chose to leave the project? Here’s who I think could make a good Batman film.

After the recent reports suggesting that Ben Affleck might decide not to direct the Batman standalone movie, I started to think about which other directors could have a stab at delivering the Dark Knight’s first solo movie since Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Although Affleck has since told IGN that he just needs time to get the script perfect, which is what we all want him to do.

“There’s great stuff in it now. It just needs to get better and better. It’s the same way I felt about this movie [Live By Night] when I was prepping it, it’s just that no one was asking me questions because nobody gave a shit, because there wasn’t any click-throughs,” Affleck told IGN’s Jim Vejvoda. However, if the worst was to happen, here are a few names of potential replacements that Warner Bros. might want to take a look at. You might have other ideas, feel free to post them in the comments section below.

Drew Goddard

Is Drew Goddard the man for the job?

Drew Goddard’s been doing impressive work for a while now, whether it be on the big or small screen. He certainly impressed me with his directorial debut, The Cabin in the Woods, which he wrote with Joss Whedon. Since then, he was the showrunner on the first season of Marvel’s incredible TV show, Daredevil, on Netflix. He also worked on shows such as Lost, Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both as a writer and a producer. And if that wasn’t enough, he wrote the scripts for The Martian and Cloverfield. He’s definitely not affraid of hard work and would relish the opportunity to be involved in such an interesting property as Batman, both as a director and why not also a writer.

Gareth Evans

Could Gareth Evans introduce a little martial arts into the mix?

The Raid and The Raid 2 are two of the best martial arts movies made in the last 10 years, and Welsh director, Gareth Evans, made both of them. He’s currently working hard on The Raid 3 and he’s even going to be helming the American remake of his debut movie, The Raid. However, imagine what he could do if Warner Bros. was to hand him the keys to the Batmobile? Think of spectacular moves we’d get to see Batman perform if Evans were behind the wheel. Things would get even more exciting if he were to take on Ra’s Al Ghul and The League of Assassins. He just has to be on Warner Bros.’ radar.

Jennifer Kent

Could Jennifer Kent be the one we need?

The Babadook is easily one of my favourite horror films made in recent memory, and Jennifer Kent was the mastermind behind it. She both wrote and directed the movie, which was based on a short she did a few years prior and her movie spooked the bejesus out of me. The Batman comics have often leaned heavily on horror, and who better to have on board than someone who understands the genre better than anybody.

One of the best scenes in Batman v Superman was the first moment we encountered the Dark Knight, crawling in the shadows on a wall. It was a terrifying sight. Why not take the standalone Batman movie that step future? Kent created one of the most sinister horror characters ever in the Babadook, and his look does resemble some of the villains in Batman’s rogues gallery. Picture Kent’s take on Clayface. Wouldn’t that be something worth seeing?

Alex Garland

Alex Garland would make one hell of a Batman flick

Is there anything that Alex Garland can’t do? We already knew he could write. He wrote the novel The Beach, which is really worth reading, then he wrote the scripts for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd. He then blew us all away with his directorial debut, Ex Machina. We hadn’t really seen anything like it before and it demonstrated that he was as good and clever a director as he was writer. He’s now working on his next project, Annihilation, which he’s adapting from Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name.

However, think of what Alex Garland could achieve with a Batman movie. He understands sci-fi (which would come in handy with Batman’s many gadgets), he knows how to approach solitary characters (i.e. Bruce Wayne), and has already written his own short Batman story, Sunrise, which was featured in DC’s limited comic book series, Batman: Black and White. He ticks all the right boxes.

Adam Wingard

Could Adam Wingard be the one to direct a Batman movie?

Adam Wingard, much like Jennifer Kent, is another proven director in the horror genre. However, unlike Kent, Wingard’s films show a distinct eye for action. The Guest and You’re Next showed that not only could he make terrifying movies, but he demonstrated that he was at ease direction fast-paced and hard-hitting action sequences. Moreover, despite his last movie, Blair Witch, receiving mixed reviews, I personally thought he made something interesting with the franchise and brought it back to its roots after some rather lacklustre and frankly bizarre sequels. The same needs to be done with Batman. Let’s take the Caped Crusader back to his Alan Moore and Frank Miller days. Think of what Wingard could do if he drew inspiration from those two legendary writers and Ben Affleck as his Dark Knight.