Who Is James Gunn 'Gunning' To Be The New Director Of 'The Batman'?

"Wholly sinking ship Batman, is the Batman solo film in trouble?" With Ben Affleck having ditched his directorial duties on the sketchily pencilled 2018 Batman solo film, new reports are that Batfleck could be dropping his cape and cowl all together. We need to make sure that we stick together in times of such tragedy, but if the film still does go ahead (it will), just who could possibly fill Affleck's director's chair?

Well, if there is one man who knows about #superhero films, it is Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn. While he may currently be tied up matching Star-Lord against Thanos, it hasn't stopped him weighing in on the #Batman dilemma. Sure to be one of the hottest directorial jobs in Hollywood, Gunn tips Green Room's Jeremy Saulnier as the best choice to be the man (or woman) to follow from Affleck.

Bat's A Tough Decision

Saulnier's name is relatively new to list of proposed directors, with rumored directors on Warner Bros.'s "Top 5" being American Psycho's Matt Ross, film legend George Miller, and Matt Reeves — the man behind the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes.

Speaking in a Facebook like Q&A, Gunn simply said:

"If Jeremy Saulnier was interested, he'd be a good choice."

Gunn seemingly shares an affinity with Saulnier, so perhaps it is something to the pair rising to prominence after creating a string of indie films. Gunn's first credit was writing 1996's Tromeo and Juliet, before screenplays for the Scooby-Doo live action films and the Dawn of the Dead remake; while none of the above were on a level with Guardians, you have to start somewhere. Saulnier may only have three (a fourth upcoming) credits under his belt, but he has bowled over critics with his psychological thrillers Blue Rain and Green Room. Following a punk-rock band trying to escape a group of murderous white supremacists, Green Room certainly tackled the dark subject matter that is needed to take on the dark underbelly of Gotham City, and Saulnier has a talent for what he does.

Batter Up

Although Affleck claims he will retain writing duties, the hunt for The Batman's director will be top of the list for the #DCEU. Personally, I think that if Affleck is out, the director's job has to go to George Miller. Responsible for creating the Mad Max films, Miller certainly has the grimy edge to take on the Dark Knight, and the #DC fan community has long-tipped Miller to helm a Batman film. Also, talk about waiting for the right moment; Miller was once attached to a live-action Justice League film (Justice League: Mortal) in the late 2000s before plans fell through. Given Batman's prominence in Zack Snyder's upcoming #JusticeLeague, it seems like fate is intervening to bring Miller on board.

The writing is inevitably on the wall for The Batman, and to get into trouble this early on isn't a good sign. The DCEU currently rests on the shoulders of the Justice League and Wonder Woman, while James Wan's Aquaman also looks like it is off to a promising start. With Batman arguably being one of #comicbook DC's biggest entities, everyone better buck up their ideas; a DCEU without a Batman film just wouldn't seem right — since 1989 he has become a staple of the superhero genre. You can't say we didn't warn you though, this is what you get when you put all your bats in one cave.