During Comic-Con we heard that Ben Affleck is set to direct and star in his own Batman solo film, which he’ll co-write with DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. While Johns himself offered up some hints about their screenplay plans, Warner Bros. has yet to confirm the solo Batman film. Over the weekend, we learned that WB has pushed back Affleck’s next two films, and it was speculated that the move was designed in part so he could work on being Batman. The latest rumor definitely supports that theory.

According to Den of Geek, WB screened Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for the film’s crew and executives, and the screening went over so well that not only did it receive a standing ovation, it inspired WB to start locking Ben Affleck down for the foreseeable future. Per an “insider,” WB is “working their movie universe around Ben’s Batman.”

Affleck has had a great working relationship with WB — they’ve distributed his past directorial efforts, including The Town and Argo, and are behind his two upcoming films: the Gavin O’Connor-directed The Accountant, and the Affleck-directed Live by Night. The studio has now delayed the release of those films, but the former was pushed back to a more awards-friendly release, and the latter delayed to allow Affleck the proper amount of time to commit.

The actor is also signed on to appear in the Justice League films, which will hit theaters in 2017 and 2019, and word is WB wants to squeeze a new Batman solo film in for 2018. If WB wants a trilogy, we could get new Batman films every couple of years after, in 2020 and 2022 — thinking this far ahead is nuts.

(Very believeable) rumors aside, we likely won’t get confirmation from WB on their new Batman plans until Batman v Superman hits theaters on March 25, 2016.

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