Ben Affleck is a busy, busy man, and his life has changed now that he’s joined the D.C. Comics Universe as Batman. It used to be that Affleck just acted here and there, but mostly worked on his directorial efforts that revitalized his once-ailing career (see “Argo” winning Best Picture in 2013 and the critical acclaim for “The Town” and “Gone Baby Gone”). But in a way, Batman has turned his schedule upside down. The lengthy shoot for “Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” took up big portions this year and last, and Affleck has been looking to carve out time to direct his next film, a Dennis Lehane-penned period crime drama called “Live By Night,” While it’s still on the table, the release date has been pushed back to 2017.
This is actually the second time that ‘Batman V. Superman’ has upset the “Live By Night” apple cart. The film was originally scheduled for a Christmas 2015 release, but then when Affleck was cast as Batman, he had to postpone the film a year, and the movie was given an October 2016 slot. But with all his priorities coming up, which will include editing “Live By Night” (which starts shooting this November), stopping to do ‘Batman V. Superman’ press, directing and co-writing the next solo "Batman" movie, and possibly more, scheduling will be tight. To give him more time, presumably to be as flexible as possible for all DC Comics Universe needs, “Live By Night” has been bumped to a TBD 2017 date. Deadline adds that Affleck hopes to finish the "Batman" script before he shoots "Live By Night" in the fall. Clearly he’s going to be juggling these two worlds — superhero films and his directing career — at least until "Batman" arrives when he merges them together.
WB has also shifted another Ben Affleck movie, but not one he’s directing, and it’s for the better. The actor is starring in the assassin flick "The Accountant," which was originally scheduled for a not-great release date of January 2016. Demonstrating a bit more faith in the movie, and perhaps because they have a new opening, "The Accountant" is now being slotted for release on October 7, 2016, the date that "Live By Night" just vacated. "The Accountant" is directed by Gavin O’Connor ("Warrior") and co-stars Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson.