Ben Affleck‘s two upcoming projects, Live by Night and The Accountant, are being pushed back for a later release by Warner Bros.
The Accountant was pushed back to October 7, 2016 from January 29, 2016, while Live by Night was pushed from October 7, 2016 to some time in 2017, likely garnering an awards friendly release date.
The former would center around an accountant who turns assassin by night and co-stars Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect). The latter will be based on Dennis Lehane’s prohibition era novel by the same name. Affleck previously adapted Lehane’s novel Gone Baby Gone. This book-adaptation was set to be Affleck’s first directorial project since his Oscar winning film Argo.
The news was announced by Warner Bros on Friday, the studio behind the hugely successful Batman films including the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This lends credence to the rumor that the studio is setting the stage for a standalone Affleck-directed Batman film. The Batman-Superman mash-up film is being directed by Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, 300).
Currently filming next year’s Suicide Squad, Affleck has a full deck of Batman films at his disposal.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25, 2016, while Suicide Squad is set for release on August, 5 2016.