How Ben Affleck can put Batman back on track with standalone movie

His self-directed follow-up is essentially a recovery mission after Batman v Superman

Imagine if Ben Affleck walked out of the shower and you suddenly realised, in a moment of sweet relief, that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had been nothing but a bad dream. Yes, you'd probably wonder what Batfleck was doing in your bathroom, but once the shock (and potentially certain other feelings) had subsided, it would immediately become clear that this was the best thing to happen to superhero movies since Heath Ledger signed up to play The Joker. And it's happening (okay, part of it is happening) following the news that Affleck has signed up to direct and star in a new solo Batman movie. Now we just need to convince the suits at Warner Bros to make a few minor tweaks, and angry gun-toting Bats can be consigned forever to that special corner of comic book movie hell where George Clooney's batnippled caped crusader resides with Halle Berry's Catwoman and Rob Schneider's comedy sidekick out of Judge Dredd.

Here's what needs to happen:

Get Batman to put away his guns. Whatever made the dark knight of Gotham so darn angry that after decades of refusing to use weapons in the face of intense provocation from the Joker and his ilk, he suddenly chose to arm the Batmobile with massive shooters and head out into the night to blast up some bad guys? Well yes, we know, probably the small matter of discovering there are superheroes with actual superpowers and Robin's demise at the hands of The Joker. But still, this is Batman … the whole point is he never stoops to the level of his enemies. A caped crusader with guns is an abomination we never want to see again on the big screen. So there's only one choice.

Less mechanised ultra-Batman please

Make the movie a prequel. While Affleck may be the ripe old age of 43, he had to be "aged up", with gothic grey streaks to play an older version of Batman in Dawn of Justice. So why not wash out the dye and make this standalone outing about the dark knight's adventures prior to becoming such an almighty jerk? We could find out what happened to Robin (though preferably not), catch up on the caped crusader's battles with perennial bad guy opposition such as The Penguin (who hasn't been seen on the big screen since Batman Returns in 1992) and even wheel out Bats' greatest nemesis. Speaking of which ...

Give us more of Jared Leto's The Joker . From what we've seen (mainly in trailers for the brilliant-looking Suicide Squad) of the Oscar-winner's take on everyone's favourite emerald-tressed sociopath, he'd be wasted in a DC "cinematic universe" movie. The Joker's no match for Superman and Wonder Woman, let alone Batman too, so it makes no sense for him to be pitched as the antagonist in Warner's upcoming Justice League movies. The mysterious villain belongs on the streets of Gotham, setting devious traps for Batfleck as our hero desperately vies to arrest his enemy's evil plans without resorting to murder (yes we're back there again: Batman is not supposed to be a killer).

More of Batfleck and Alfred's detective work. Most people liked what they saw of the new Batman in Dawn of Justice's early scenes. While Batfleck's boorish comments to Gadot's undercover Wonder Woman marked him as something of a cad, Bruce Wayne's adventures at Lex Luthor's mansion reminded us that Batman is supposed to be the world's greatest detective. Alfred's remote assistance role in the caped crusader's adventures were a suitable canonical twist that helped explain how Batman had been able to survive so long without superpowers, even if it was half-inched from Iron Man's J.A.R.V.I.S.-aided outings in the Marvel films.

Put the universe building to one side. We thought we wanted a DC Comics-based "cinematic universe" to rival Marvel's pioneering equivalent. Then we saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and realised we didn't. Justice League part one is apparently going to be all about Batfleck heading off to recruit the various "meta-humans" he needs to complete the titular Earth-defending ensemble, which all sounds suspiciously like a superhero take on Bring Back the A-Team. The solo Batman movie should be set in a time long before the dark knight was faced with such tediously epic world-saving tasks - even if we're quietly looking forward to seeing the natty immersible suit Wayne will surely need to build before heading off to convince Aquaman to join the party.