The Batman: 10 Characters Matt Damon Could Play For Affleck
Let's hope the director does throw him some Bat-scraps...
Not so long ago, the comic book movie loving press was riddled with stories about Matt Damon declaring his interest in playing a superhero in a Ben Affleck movie. Why wouldn't it be extremely exciting? He's one of the few really top level actors yet to be involved in the genre (despite several links and at least one big close call), and the idea of a reunion with Affleck has its own merits.
Damon has come out again to discuss the possibility - this time suggesting (via EW) it won't happen because "he gives himself the best role in all his movies." He says that until Affleck can break himself of that habit, "we’re probably not going to appear together in a movie." But maybe there's hope? Maybe Damon knows to expect the call from his old friend?
"He might throw me some table scraps in his Batman movie. I’d be happy to show up and do anything, because I’m sure his Batman movie is going to be great.”
Obviously if you're reading that as confirmation, you're probably too much of an optimist for this world, but it does pose the interesting question of who those "scraps' might manifest as. Surely Affleck would give Damon something to really get his teeth into? In the interest of scratching that particular itch, let's look through the strongest and most compelling possibilities...
10. Nightwing
It's surely only a matter of time before Warner Bros realise that they're ignoring one of their potentially coolest characters and give Nightwing the movie he's deserved ever since Chris O'Donell almost (wrongly) got his own spin-off after Batman & Robin.
Whatever the reason for resisting the pull of Robin as a movie character (it's likely that he's just a bit vanilla for the current screen iterations of Batman), Nightwing is an entirely different prospect. He's more grown up, he's more sardonic and he has actual competitor friction with Batman (despite operating in a different city entirely).
He's also a fully formed superhero, and while the idea of a Die Hard/Batman mash-up with the Dark Knight as a lone wolf is a great prospect, having him able to call on Nightwing for action set pieces (as he did in Arkham Knight, actually) would be even better.
Plus, the existing chemistry between Damon and Affleck would work wonders for their dynamic: with Damon more than capable of holding his own as an acrobatic superhero thanks to his Bourne work.