Ben Affleck is 41 years old, 10 years older than Christian Bale was in Batman Begins. It would appear that the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) is indeed going to include a more experienced iteration of the Caped Crusader. The general population is now very familiar with the origin of Batman; its execution has been played out in a similar fashion across various media. We all understand that a young boy left a movie theatre, his parents were killed, he made a vow, he became billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and Batman. It doesn’t matter if the killer was The Joker (Batman ’89), Joe Chill (Batman Begins) or had some vague connection to The Penguin (Earth One), the basic story is ingrained in our social consciousness. Scott Snyder is currently reworking Year One with his clever Zero Year, a story that is necessary to iron out continuity errors brought about by the New 52. A new origin may be needed for clarification in print, but I think the cinematic Batman can carry on regardless.
This is also interesting from the point of view of the villains. Batman will have dealt with his foes before, meaning there is a rich history already in existence which does not have to be bogged down with exposition. Setting up The Riddler could take whole movie, but having The Riddler as an established villain allows for more interesting plotting. We can dispense with Batman attempting to discern the identity of a new foe, and instead focus on Batman’s familiarity with these villains, and examine how an experienced detective solves his cases.
But how does an older Batman work for the longevity of franchise? I would hope that Affleck was not chosen simply to mirror the casting of an older Tony Stark over a Marvel. The fact is, by the time a Justice League movie gets going, Bruce Wayne would be pushing 45, maybe even 50. Too old! Here is where it could potentially get interesting- where print and screen can work hand-in-hand. Batman’s comic book self has often been influenced by his cinematic counterpart; Alfred the butler and the bat-cave were originally introduced in the 1940s serials. The popular character Harley Quinn first made her appearance in the ‘90s Batman: The Animated Series. Recently, the tumbler from The Dark Knight trilogy was introduced in the Batman comics. Could an older Batman work in the comic books, the same way as he will hopefully work in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel? DC has rebooted its universe many times, getting it wrong and confusing things more every time due to the introduction of multiple timelines/universes etc. With the launch of the New 52, DC have managed to obtain control over their universe, one which appears to be operating in real-time (to an extent).
If the New 52 continued to operate in real-time, Bruce Wayne is going to get older- naturally. If this were set up with a plan in mind, it could be acceptable for someone else to don the Bat-suit- Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, etc. This could also work in the DCCU- having a sidekick take over and become Batman, effectively replacing Ben Affleck.
So this is a two-fold operation- allowing an older Batman to be shown, thus eliminating the need to rethread old ground, whilst also allowing the Batman of the comic books to age organically. If these media worked in partnership with each other, this could be an interesting development.
I’m in the ‘Bruce is always Batman’ camp, but this was just something that crossed my mind with the casting of Affleck.
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