Much of the last few days has centered on concerns surrounding the quality of Ben Affleck’s The Batman script. A rumor, based on a lame game of telephone, made the rounds late last week and was later basically retracted, that the film was in bad shape and that the studio philosophy surrounding it was quite toxic. Personally, I never bought into what was being said but I’ll sound off on that in today’s 37th episode of the LOS FANBOYS Podcast.

For now, let’s talk about something that’s a bit more optimistic.

Joe Manganiello (True Blood, Magic Mike) will be playing Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, in The Batman. The actor recently had a chance to chime in on what he thinks will make the movie special. Up to this point, we’ve heard murmurs that the film would tell a very comic book-y story. We’ve heard rumors of multiple villains, and chatter that certain classic Batman comic book storylines would be getting baked into one very special Dark Knight movie. Manganiello’s comments seem to confirm that this film will be different than what’s come before- especially the most recent Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, which was more of a real-world crime saga that happened to have a dude dressed as a bat in it.

“When I met Ben we sat down and we talked about, you know, the role. We talked about the movie. His take is a fresh take but I think the audience is going to be surprised,” Manganiello said on the Mark Madden, Super Genius podcast. “Because it’s a road that no one’s really gone down that’s completely integral to, you know, who Batman is. And I think it’s gonna be refreshing but at the same time completely familiar. But it’s going to take this franchise in a direction that I think A LOT of people are going to be really happy about,” he added. “It’s going to be gritty and action packed and cerebral and all of those elements that people love about Batman.“

That sure piques the interest, doesn’t it? Fresh and familiar all at once? A part of me wonders if Manganiello’s teasing the fact that The Batman is going to be the first film about the Caped Crusader that really sticks to the books. If you think about it, Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, and Christopher Nolan all kind of made their own version of Batman. Maybe Affleck, who’s working with the script alongside comic book writer Geoff Johns, is attempting to make the first Batman film that really feels like one of his books come to life.

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But Manganiello wasn’t finished gushing about The Batman, folks. He thinks Affleck’s bringing the goods in the talent department and that The Batman is destined for greatness just based on that pedigree.

“Ben’s a great director, man. I mean the last movie that man directed won best picture,” Manganiello said about Affleck. “He’s got an Oscar for writing. Like, this is all the components to go down as a… everything is lined up for a really really really great movie. Not only a superhero movie but just a great great movie.“

What do you make of Manganiello’s remarks about The Batman? How do you think Affleck plans on making it feel simultaneously familiar and new? 

SOURCE: Comic Book Movie