It begins again. All it takes is little more than a throwaway line from Ben Affleck and the buzz about the next Batman movie takes on a new life.
Affleck, who is writing, directing and starring in the follow-up to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, admitted he had a title in mind.
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Ben Affleck scripting 'The Batman'
Speaking in Los Angeles, Ben Affleck reveals that the current title for his standalone Batman movie is simply The Batman.
"The movie I think is going to be called The Batman," he said while promoting the upcoming thriller The Accountant. " At least that's what we're going with now. I might change it."
That was pretty much all there was to it. A title. That might change.
And it sparked an online frenzy.
Great title. Terrible, terrible title. Can't wait to see Affleck as Batman again. He was a shocking, awful Batman. He's a great director. He is the worst director. Can't wait for the movie. Why are they even making it?
It was, once again, as if the internet was invented so a moment in popular culture could be forensically debated.
Here's why we shouldn't care whether Ben Affleck calls his movie The Batman, just plain Batman or, just as likely, something a big longer with a colon in the middle like The Batman: A New Beginning.
![Leaden movie ... Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne in <i>Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice</i>.](/web/20161006090207im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/5/z/f/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grucqc.png/1475573552624.jpg)
The title doesn't matter
There are times when a title has worked against a movie at the box office.
![Last time around: Ben Affleck as Batman in <i>Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice</i>.](/web/20161006090207im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/o/3/7/p/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.grucqc.png/1475573552624.jpg)
A decade ago, tough guys reputedly baulked at asking for a ticket to the Russell Crowe boxing movie Cinderella Man. Apparently they could not utter the word "Cinderella" without feeling embarrassed and emasculated.
If that's true, it was their loss. It was a pretty good movie.
But even not-so-macho guys would have felt awkward about the title of, say, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Mind you, it may not have been a movie for them.
Then there are the titles so awkward, hard to pronounce or just plain confusing that you struggle to remember what the hell the thing is called when you ask for a ticket.
Martha Marcy May Marlene. Quantum of Solace. Incendies.
Is it called Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Rise of the Guardians, The Guardians or Guardians of the Galaxy?
If a movie is good, everyone immediately forgets it's called Inglourious Basterds or The Revenant or Kubo and the Two Strings. It's just accepted.
But how often do you see a movie because of the title anyway?
If you hear it's good, you want to see it. If it's lousy, you don't have to struggle to remember what Me Before You is called.
We've done it all before
Remember all the debate about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? The title, the casting, the costumes, plot details, expectations, hopes, yada yada and more yada.
The energy expended on discussing the movie before anyone had seen it could have powered a NASA mission to Neptune. And back.
And what was the result? A lumbering lump of a movie that would have had the Lumiere brothers, had they still been alive, wondering whether they did the right thing pioneering cinema.
There were holes in the plot, there was the confusing introduction of Wonder Woman and then it turned into a 'who-cares' fight that - spoiler alert - didn't actually have Batman v Superman. Its sins included the fact that for a comic book movie, it was more serious than brain surgery.
Other things matter more
For fans, it often seems like the next instalment of a beloved movie series really does matter. With every marketing push - posters, teasers, first pics, trailers, carefully controlled interviews with the stars - Hollywood wants us to care.
Outside that bubble, there are things that matter a lot more. The US presidential election, for example. The refugee crisis. Aboriginal health and education. The next Marvel superhero movie.
Well, maybe not the next Marvel superhero movie.
One thing that is not even worth the effort of adding a comment to the end of an online story: the title of a Batman movie.
Here's another: whether a director who has won an Oscar for best picture, Ben Affleck for Argo, can direct. He can.
He will almost certainly do a better job than Zack Snyder did on Batman v Superman.
But if he doesn't, rest assured there will be another Batman movie heading for cinemas before too long.
Who cares what it's called? The Batman 2. Another Batman. The Final Batman. Just not Sisterhood of the Travelling Cape.
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