DC movie veteran scribe David S. Goyer opens up about how he was advised by Christopher Nolannot to work on Ben Affleck’sBatmanfilm. While Robert Pattinson’sThe Batmanmovie became a huge success in 2022, the film was initially slated to serve as a solo outing for Affleck’s version of the Dark Knight inthe DCEU movie timeline. While Affleck was set to direct hisBatmanmovie, while also writing it with Geoff Johns, he ended up departing from the project, with the instalment in turn then getting revamped into a reboot for the Caped Crusader under Matt Reeves.
During a new appearance on theHappy, Sad, Confusedpodcast, Goyer, who worked on Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy, looked back at his comic book career, as he also penned the original Blade movies with Wesley Snipes. While addressing how fans want him to work on Marvel Studios’Bladereboot, Goyer mentioned that he is hesitant about taking on the project after writing the previous Blade movies, comparing the scenario to Affleck’sBatmanmovie and revealing that Nolan himself had advised him not to do the latter film, as the screenwriter shared the following:
All the time on social media I see ‘oh, they should have Goyer do the new Blade’ - part of me thinks it would be fun, but part of me thinks that so far, I did the definitive Blade, and it’s a mistake. AndI remember Chris [Nolan] advising me not to work on the Affleck Batman- just because it’s confusing, you know? We did one, just stick with that.
What David S. Goyer’s Christopher Nolan Story Means For Ben Affleck’s Batman
While there will always be a lot of reasons whyAffleck’sBatmanmoviedidn’t end up happening, it makes sense that Goyer wouldn’t want to take on another cinematic depiction of the Dark Knight. Since Goyer was involved with the entireThe Dark Knighttrilogy,that was nearly a decade’s worth of time spent onChristian Bale’s version of Batman. Even though Goyer had penned the script forBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, that is still different enough not to feel like he is just repeating what he did with Nolan through the course of three movies.
Given how Affleck’s version of Batman was vastly different from Bale’s Caped Crusader,it’s justifiable that Goyer would want to leave the door open for a new writer to take on the DC icon within the context of the DCEU franchise. With Goyer having worked on numerous comic book projects outsideThe Dark Knighttrilogyand theBlademovies, the filmmaker may have also wanted to make sure his career didn’t become too heavily dependent on superhero properties. As Goyer’s credits also includeMan of Steel,Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and developing theKryptonandThe SandmanTV shows, these were also unique opportunities outside the Batman franchise.
Our Take On David S. Goyer’s Christopher Nolan Story
Goyer’s decision to avoid working on Affleck’sBatmanmovie makes sense given his comments, and looks to have potentially avoided complications for the writer given that the DCEU film never came to fruition. Asthe DCEU suffered from a lot of creative differences, including what they wanted to do with aBatmanfilm, hopefully the hero’s upcoming reboot inJames Gunn’s DC Universecan learn from the complex trajectory the character has faced previously. Given the big success ofThe Dark Knightmovies and Pattinson’sThe Batman, there’s plenty of reason to hope the newBatmanfilm in the DCU will have a similar success in Gunn’s franchise.
