Batman Is Back...Already. Ben Affleck, Come On Down!

Incredibly rough sketch of Affleck as Batman

The dark knight just can't stay hidden for long.

Orange is the new black, and former Daredevil Ben Affleck is the new Batman (or Batfleck). 'The Dark Knight Rises' just came out 13 months ago, but Warner Bros. has already found a new Bruce Wayne/Batman to follow Christian Bale. He'll be joining the follow up to 'Man of Steel' which starred Henry Cavill as Superman, a Batman/Superman film which is on schedule to come out in 2015. No word on plot details or any other characters. I'm hoping for a scene where Batman yells "Argo fuck yourself!" at Superman. Doubtful on that happening though. The Internet has been set ablaze since the news, and for some reason many have voiced displeasure...even though the movie hasn't even started filming yet. Geeze people, give Ben a chance.

Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight' trilogy drew rave reviews as it sent these famous characters into a realistic setting following the the more fantasy based Batman films of the 1990s. You also have to wonder whether they will soon look to showcase some other recently portrayed Batman characters, like the Joker & Catwoman, which had stand out performances by the late Heath Ledger & Anne Hathaway. It might be a gamble to try and re-create them so soon after two of the biggest movies of all time. Of course they may wait to bring in those characters for a singular Batman film starring Affleck, which is probably on the horizon as well. Another option would be to use characters that weren't in the Nolan films. It would be hard to resist the two most popular ones (Joker & Catwoman) though.

Affleck previously played Daredevil in 2003, which got mixed reviews. The movie gets an unfair bad rap though, especially if you watch the Director's Cut, which featured an entire subplot cut from the film and an R-rating. Jennifer Garner also kicked some major ass as Elektra.