Ben Affleck’s Solo Batman Movie Would Have Fixed His Daredevil Failure

Ben Affleck’s unmade solo Batman movie could have made up for 2003’s Daredevil, seeing as it was influenced by a classic Marvel comic book storyline.

Ben Affleck’s Batman movie would have made up for 2003’s Daredevil with the story it was set to tell. Ben Affleck’s portrayal of a darker veteran Batman has had its ups and downs, with the actor departing the role and his planned Batman solo movie due to numerous behind-the-scenes issues. More recent DCEU developments have seen Affleck begin to return to his role as the Caped Crusader, however, with supporting roles in the upcoming movies The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Details about Ben Affleck’s solo Batman story and its place in the DCEU have also been made public, with the movie to have pitted his Dark Knight against Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello), following the latter’s meeting with Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Manganiello revealed David Fincher’s The Game was a big influence on Affleck’s would-be martial arts-heavy Batman movie, and similarities have also been noticed to the Daredevil Born Again comic storyline. With Affleck having portrayed Daredevil in the character’s eponymous 2003 movie and expressing disappointment about it — to the point of distancing himself from comic book movies for years — the story of his Batman film would have been a redemption of sorts.

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How Ben Affleck’s Batman Movie Was Similar To Daredevil: Born Again

As revealed by Joe Manganiello, Ben Affleck’s Batman movie would have involved Deathstroke having a personal vendetta against the main character’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne. The plot saw the villain murdering the people closest to Bruce and decimating his finances. Then, with his life in tatters, Batman would have had a showdown with Deathstroke, during which Batgirl was to lend him a hand.

In the Born Again comic, Daredevil is similarly brought to his lowest point through his battle with the Kingpin. Daredevil is left homeless, and the assassin Nuke is hired to kill him. Fortunately, Captain America lends support to Daredevil against the pair of villains. Born Again was adapted, with some modifications, for Netflix’s Daredevil season 3 while the character’s MCU comeback show, Daredevil: Born Again, adopted the title.

Why The Born Again Influences Made Affleck’s Batman Story Better

Neither Ben Affleck nor Joe Manganiello has spoken of Born Again as a basis for their canceled Batman movie, yet the story perfectly fits the kind of Batman that Affleck had established in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Affleck’s Bruce Wayne was introduced 20 years into being Batman, more readily killing his opponents and increasing in his cynicism and brutality. With its dark tone and conflict of a hero fighting through the grimmest chapter of his life, Born Again would make a great story for any Batman movie to follow, and Affleck seemingly recognized this given how he structured his script.

Born Again and The Game were not the only influences Affleck had on his Batman movie. The Batman director Matt Reeves noted a 007 influence on Affleck’s story, as well. That Affleck was apparently drawing from one of Daredevil’s most popular stories for his script makes his unrealized Batman movie a relic of a different sort. With the letdown that he expressed feeling about Daredevil, Affleck’s James Bond-style Batman movie could paradoxically have been the closest thing to the Daredevil movie he had wanted to make.

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