If we can believe the latest report, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League scribe Chris Terrio has rewritten The Batman.
After about half a year of rumors, it was confirmed last April that Ben Affleck would not only star as the titular superhero in the next Batman standalone movie, but also would produce, direct, and co-write the screenplay (with Geoff Johns). Affleck recently stepped down from his directorial duties, but he made it clear that he would still serve as lead actor and co-producer. However, there was no mention of what would happen with the script.
But now, Deadline has updated us about The Batman script. According to the outlet, Warner Bros. asked Chris Terrio to rewrite Affleck and Johns’ original script. And the Academy Award-winning scribe has already put the finishing touches to his draft.
For someone who thought Batman v Superman was a mess, this would not appear to be good news. But we shouldn't forget that Terrio was only hired to rewrite the script penned by David S. Goyer. The studio doesn't seem to have lost faith in Terrio, and neither should we, at least not until Justice League comes out. He is solely responsible for the screenplay for the November 17, 2017 release.
After Affleck stepped down as director, we came across a report that listed the names of some filmmakers who are being considered for the director position. While Deadline confirms that Captain Fantastic director Matt Ross is indeed on the shortlist, they also suggest that director Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) will be the first to be approached by studio.
That shortlist also includes Arrival director Denis Villeneuve, but we aren't sure whether he’ll be able to commit to The Batman, as he’s been in talks to helm the Dune reboot. Now, we can bet that he won’t, since Brian Herbert, son of Dune author Frank Herbert, has confirmed via Twitter that Villeneuve has sealed a deal with Legendary Entertainment to direct the project.
