Batman: 8 Reasons Affleck Must Make Arkham Asylum (& 3 He Shouldn't)
All your favourite villains, under one terrifying roof...
It seems you can't go more than a couple of days without a major rumour attaching itself to an upcoming DC movie: if it's not the alleged production issues on Justice League, it's directors leaving or the promise that Aquaman is going to be darker than Batman v Superman.
The most exciting, without a shadow of a doubt, is the suggestion from Birth Movies Death that the stand-alone Batman film is "going to be crammed with Bat villains, which means that just about every major bad guy you've ever wanted to see in a movie will be in this movie."
Inevitably, that rumour immediately inspires further possibilities, and it's hard to resist the idea that Affleck and Warner Bros might be about to adapt something as villain heavy and as iconic as Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth.
Beyond a mere whimsical suggestion, the appeal of that seminal arc being adapted by someone as talented as Affleck is incredibly hard to deny. And it would be a hell of a way to announce a new solo Batman franchise in the wake of Batman v Superman's well-publicised problems. In that respect, it's not only a good idea for Affleck to tackle that story, it's almost his duty to the fans...
8. The Scope For Lots Of Villains
As a Batman fan, the idea that we might get to see a massive injection of characters from the comics into the Batman screen world is one of those irresistible prospects that don't come up very often. With the way Arkham Asylum is set up, the characters wouldn't even necessarily need to be on screen for a long time - somewhat negating the issue of over-crowding - and you'd get the fan-baiting reaction Warner Bros probably need after Zack Snyder seemingly failed to understand why Batman is popular.
As well as The Joker, Two Face, and KIller Croc, the story would also allow for screen debuts for Clayface, Mad Hatter and Maxie Zeus and basically any villain from the entire Rogue's Gallery, giving some spotlight to previously overlooked characters who may have been deemed unviable for movies.
Cutting the right balance would obviously be a big issue, but having 6 or 7 big names and some lower level mooks would ensure incredible potential for set-pieces and action without it getting too crowded (particularly as the Joker and Two Face would be removed from combat anyway).