The rumors had always been in the air that Ben Affleck had one foot out the door the DC Films Extended Universe, but they never quite stuck. The studio insisted the actor was still the one they wanted in the Batsuit, and perhaps they made overtures to try and keep him in the franchise. However, it looks like he’s going fade into the dark.
THR reveals that “Justice League” will likely be the last time Affleck ever appears on screen as Batman. That’s right, he won’t be starring in Matt Reeves‘ mooted “The Batman.” The news is certainly a surprise, and it’s awful timing with Warner Bros. gearing up for a big San Diego Comic Con presentation tomorrow, but the writing was always on the wall.
READ MORE: 5 Reasons Why Ben Affleck Wisely Bailed On Directing ‘The Batman’
Perhaps the first sign that Affleck might be wavering on continuing as Batman was when he stepped down from directing his solo movie. Then there was the news, first teased in the spring, and confirmed this month, that Affleck’s script that he wrote with Geoff Johns for “The Batman” was being scrapped entirely. That’s not to mention Affleck’s irritation during the press rounds of “Live By Night,” of being asked constantly about the solo movie. Add all that together with the fact that “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” was hardly a great display for the character, what incentive does Affleck have at staying on in the role?
Naturally, WB continues to insist that “Ben is our Batman,” but, according to the trade, Affleck is out, and the upcoming films will figure out a way to gracefully exit the character from the storyline. He will not be in any “Justice League” sequels, which are likely a few years out at the earliest, while the first is currently undergoing extensive reshoots.
Should all this play out —and it sounds like it will — it’s a crushing blow to the DCEU. Just as they were enjoying their first victory with “Wonder Woman,” and have the team-up movie “Justice League” on the way, they now have to contend with reconfiguring a major cornerstone of the franchise. All that being said, Reeves is already talking about a potential trilogy of Batman movies, and he could be the right creative hands to reboot the character, even if it’s very unexpectedly early to do so.
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“He will not be in any “Justice League,” which is likely a few years out at the earliest, and is currently undergoing extensive reshoots.”
-This makes no sense.
uhh you missed the word ‘sequels’…. he’s obviously in the first JL.
Read, don’t just skim. READ.
No one cares who plays these characters anyway. As long as they’re not miscast. Honestly, it doesn’t matter.
It matters. I think they should do this: Make sure Batman is hurt really badly in Justice League. Like, real bad. Face disfigured an all. Then in the next appearance of the character, he alludes to having extreme facial reconstruction (or some shit) to explain the new look and voice.
Boom, audience appeased, problem solved.
What we don’t want is another nonsensical James Rhodes recasting debacle. That was soooooo stupid. We started with Terrence Howard, then BAM! Don Cheadle OUT OF NOWHERE.
Casting is a huge element in realizing a director’s vision.
This is great for the Reeves project.
New voice. Fresh start.
hate to break it to you, but Ben Affleck just shot down that rumor
Why should Affleck need “incentive” for staying in a role HE COURTED? If he was disappointed by how Batman came off in B v S – then that’s on him. He was the one doing the acting not Zach Snyder. That’s on him. That’s Ben’s problem in a nutshell – his failures are always someone else’s fault. He sucked and that’s on him. And if his script was all that and a bag of chips WB wouldn’t be throwing it out the window just because he doesn’t want to be Batman anymore.. The only person I feel bad for is Joe Manganiello because he thought he was going to get a breakthrough superhero villain role – and instead the whole thing has gone down the crapper.
I don’t think too many people had a problem with Affleck’s acting in BvS. Heck, most people seemed to think that he was the only highlight of the film. Most of the criticism concerning BvS was about the writing and directing, and lots of inside gossip is that Justice league is suffering from the same problems. Maybe the reshoots will fix things, but I’m guessing Affleck thinks there’s too much already shot that can’t be salvaged, so why bother staying tied to a franchise that’s going no where? Plus he’s proven he’s a decent film maker in his own right, so it’s easy to understand why he might want out of a project that no longer wants his creative input.
DC, please stop rebooting things. Introduce Dick Grayson, and pass the mantle of Batman to him. Keep CONTINUITY GOING.
I got a better idea, stop falling for “anonymous inside scoops”
Who said I fell for that?
Affleck was the worst Batman ever portrayed from a list that includes the old serials from the 1940’s AND that jackass George Clooney.
Christian Bale may not want to play him again, but I wouldn’t have any objection to him reprising the role. Others could be Liam Hemsworth, Josh Brolin, Scott Eastwood, Sean Bean, any number of “heavy” actors to play the Caped Crusader.