Ben Affleck directing a DC Universe movie has been a point of contention, yet one DC Comics character would be a perfect albeit unlikely pick for the filmmaker's talents. Since the announcement of the DCU's first chapter in January 2023, plenty has been revealed about James Gunn's upcoming reboot. That said, for everything released officially about the upcoming DC movie slate there has been an equal amount of conflicting reports and unclear information regarding actors, filmmakers, and continuities that will be part of the new universe. One of these conflicting reports was the idea of Ben Affleck directing a DCU movie.

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In December 2022, James Gunn confirmed via Twitter that he and Affleck had met to discuss the latter directing a project, a sentiment still echoed in DC.com's section about the upcoming Brave and the Bold film adaptation. However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck confirmed he has no intention to direct a DCU movie for Gunn. That being said, this could change in the future as evidenced by the recently announced DCU Justice League recast despite Gal Gadot’s insistence on remaining as Wonder Woman only a few months before this news. If Affleck does decide to direct a DCU film, one left-field character is the perfect choice.

Why The Question Is Ben Affleck's Perfect DCU Movie To Direct

The character from DC Comics that would fit Affleck's directorial style the best is The Question. The Question is a character who was originally created by Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics before being folded into the DC Universe after being acquired by DC in the 1980s. Despite having many different iterations, The Question is often depicted as Vic Sage, a martial artist and detective who has spent time among huge DC teams like the Justice League and the Suicide Squad across DC's vast comic multiverse.

Concerning the reason why this character would be perfect for Affleck to direct despite his lesser-known nature in the DC pantheon of heroes: it simply fits with his style as a filmmaker. Affleck's earlier directorial efforts included his debut, Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo. These films are all similar in style in that they are tense, suspenseful thrillers that emulate detective stories, especially in the case of Gone Baby Gone and Argo.

These earlier films prove that Affleck is better suited to smaller, character-driven films that focus on suspenseful thriller aspects. This tracks with what is known about Ben Affleck's canceled Batman movie which was described as similar to David Fincher's The Game, another mystery thriller movie. This style of Affleck's direction proves that helming a story about a detective second only to Batman in the DCU would be a perfect choice, allowing his biggest strengths to shine through as a director.

Why The Question Actually Fits James Gunn's DCU

However, the question may be raised as to why a director of Affleck's talent is given a film about a lesser-known DC character. That said, this actually fits James Gunn's vision for the DCU perfectly. The announcement of the projects that will make up Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters of the DCU proved that Gunn is carrying on his tendency to take smaller, less popular comic book characters and make them integral parts of a franchise. Gunn did this with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel and proved to do the same for smaller characters in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

From the projects announced with Gods and Monsters, this shows no sign of changing. Lesser-known DC teams like The Authority and Creature Commandos are set to be big parts of Gunn's story for Chapter 1 as are characters like Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and the more obscure Green Lantern of Guy Gardner. As such, a character like The Question could be a perfect fit for Gunn's universe both for the character's fitting nature regarding Ben Affleck's direction and his less popular nature that applies to Gunn's overall vision for the DC Universe.