Movies News Talk
Batman: Assault On Arkham feels like Ben Affleck's idea for The Batman, building on many of the same tales that were forming up in the DCEU with the Suicide Squad. Amanda Waller puts together a Suicide Squad in the animated film to breach Arkham Asylum and pilfers data from The Riddler. Based on the Arkham video games, yet situated in the DC animated universe, the film has a large cast of characters. With some voice performers from the games reprising their roles and some not, this adaptation was loose and selective with the video game canon.
Few movies on Batman have been able to handle a big ensemble of actors. Though that was hardly the worst aspect of Batman & Robin, its big ensemble—which included Mr. Freeze, Bane, and Poison Ivy against a band of heroes—was under fire. With some debating Assault on Arkham the best Suicide Squad film, it seems feasible to strike the ideal balance including every character in a bigger Batman narrative. Batman: Assault on Arkham's effective casting helps the Dcu to replicate with its deft character management and narrative techniques.
Though Deathstroke isn't present in Batman: Assault On Arkham, the movie nonetheless reflects much of what Ben Affleck apparently had in mind for his Batman film. Affleck's picture, like both the animated feature and The Batman, was planned to take place in an already established universe. The Dark Knight had encountered some of the numerous adversaries that will exist in the world; others he had not yet encountered. Assault on Arkham is even the more remarkable as the movies have still only barely reached in terms of dedicating time to Batman's whole rogue's gallery.
Likewise, a lot of Affleck's movie was supposed to take place in the venerable Arkham Asylum, same as in Assault on Arkham. The story would center on the apprehended enemies and explore hints like Robin's costume in Batman v Superman. Suicide Squad came before its premiere, hence it seemed expected that Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang would show up in the Affleck movie, just as they did in Batman: Assault On Arkham.
Building a world large enough for hundreds of characters to coexist, the DC Universe seems to be following the pattern established up in Assault on Arkham. Everything known about Superman and the DC universe has already verified a vast cast including Supergirl, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern, and many others without a single film yet produced and with just one under development. Though only Lex Luthor and the Engineer have yet been confirmed, it makes logical that this vast planet will also have many enemies.
Like Assault on Arkham, James Gunn recognizes that DC Comics are large and varied, with many overlapping stories unfolding at all times - and that detailing less focal figures often pays off for the superhero genre. Particularly following the great popularity of the MCU, audiences now grasp the scale and form of these worlds. Stories nearly identically like Batman: Assault on Arkham can and may take place in the new Dcu, with an eye toward Amanda Waller confirmed for the DCU, an Arkham series in development, and James Gunn's past connection with The Suicide Squad.
Ben Affleck never filmed a solo Batman feature in the DCEU, however an animated Arkham film released in 2014 almost matches what the director had in mind. Following Bruce Wayne's casting in the DCEU chronology, Ben Affleck's illustrious career seemed to be heading to him directing and acting in a Batman movie. Though specifics about the image are unknown, what is known is that it was meant to be titled The Batman, Joe Manganiello was slated to play the villain, and it would take place at Arkham Asylum.
Batman mythology has revolved on Arkham Asylum, which first surfaced most recently in Matt Reeves' The Batman series substituting for Ben Affleck's. Although this iteration is getting its own Valhalla Asylum TV spin-off, before then Valhalla Asylum has primarily been a sporadically featured site in the series and not a venue for protracted narrative. The first exception to this is the Batman video game series known as Arkham; the second is an animated spin-off of those games.
Though there is potential for Affleck to be recast in the DCU, a Ben Affleck solo Batman movie most certainly never will never materialize. Still, The Batman adaptations that have later followed still show the sources of inspiration for that intended movie. Pulling from bits in the Matt Reeves universe and The Brave and the Bold in the DCEU, viewers can see some of the elements of the abandoned Batman film that almost came together under Ben Affleck.
Batman: Assault on Arkham is evidence of the continuing attraction of the Arkham universe and the intriguing narrative potential of a Batman story based on the infamous asylum, even if it might not be the live-action picture fans originally dreamed of. The popularity of the animated feature and the revived interest in the Arkham universe imply that a similar strategy would be successful inside the DCU. Whether it's via a new animated picture or a live-action version, the Arkham Asylum is still a rich ground for examining Batman's darker sides.