Ben Affleck is probably never going to direct that Batman movie he’d been prepping but he may get to play with some wonderful toys at a rival studio.
Deadline reports Affleck is attached to direct an adaptation of Keeper of the Lost Cities, the first in an ongoing book series by Shannon Messenger. The story follows a young girl named Sophie Foster who has the ability to read minds. Soon she meets a boy who can also read minds; together they discover they’re from another world, and Sophie has a crucial role to play in the story of both.
Which, to be honest, doesn’t sound much like a movie Ben Affleck would direct. So far the actor turned Oscar-winning writer and director has made only gritty, real-world stories like Argo and The Town. Lots of suits, guns, and F-bombs. That’s probably why he’s interested in Keeper though, since on paper it sounds like something so outside of the box for him. Either way, Affleck is a very talented director with a strong sense of story. Working with Disney on a potential franchise starter feels like it could be a slam dunk for him.
It’s also worth noting that this news comes early in development for the project. There’s always a chance Affleck leaves or ends up staying on only as a producer. Or maybe the script comes in letter-perfect and filming begins as soon as humanly possible. We don’t know. All we really know Disney owns the rights to Messenger’s best-selling series, which released its ninth entry (labelled “book 8.5″), Unlocked, in November 2020.