Jeremy Irons Thinks ‘The Batman’ Could Start Filming Next Summer
We don’t know much about Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie, save for its blessedly punctuation-free title and the fact that Affleck and Deathstroke will be in it, and with all the work being done on Wonder Woman and Justice League, The Batman is probably pretty far on the back burner right now. But plans are still being set in motion, and our latest Alfred, Jeremy Irons, says that the movie will start production as soon as next summer.
Speaking with Variety, Irons talked a bit about how much fun he has working with Affleck and Zack Snyder, and that he enjoyed doing Batman v. Superman. Granted, his role was a pretty small one, and he didn’t have to spend weeks in a heavy metal suit, but his was one of the lighter parts of the movie. When Variety asked him if he’ll have more to do in Justice League, Irons said,
Similar, but then, of course, Ben’s going to make a Batman film next summer. He promises me there’s going to be a bit more of Alfred in that. In the “Justice League” we have seven major lead characters and I’m the butler to one of them. It’s clear I will not be dominating that film.
He’ll probably have lots more screen time, since The Batman will only have one superhero to deal with instead of three, plus four of five villains. Irons also discussed how he approached the role:
I remember an evening with Paul Getty, who was a neighbor of mine, now sadly dead. We drove up to his lovely house. A very nice gentleman opened up the car door. Then another very nice gentleman took the car and parked it somewhere. Another nice gentleman took my coat. And then another nice gentleman gave me a glass of champagne. And all those nice gentlemen were SAS [British special forces]. I thought, that’s Alfred. He’s a man who will take care of his boss, whether he’s making coffee or pouring champagne or flying his airplane.
It’s a very astute reading of a very iconic and important character, and so far Irons, veteran actor that he is, has not disappointed yet. No release date has been announced for The Batman, but we’ll probably hear more about it soon.