Ben Affleck is still “contemplating” whether or not to return to the cape and cowl when THE BATMAN finally goes solo — it maybe without its A-List star after all!
Will he or won’t he? He may be crisscrossing the globe in support of the latest Warner Bros. blockbuster Justice League but Ben Affleck is keeping the press guessing as to the future of his caped crusader, again exciting speculation that when The Batman goes solo, it may have to find another actor to fill the boots. It’s not the first time that the Academy Award Winner has suggested that he’s ready to walk away from the iconic film role; Affleck wasn’t entirely thrilled by critics (and fans) reaction to his first outing in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Affleck said The Batman is “something I’m contemplating. You don’t do it forever, so I want to find a graceful and cool way to segue out of it.” After appearing in BvS the director/actor had approached the studio about directing the character’s next solo film himself, but it appeared that with the logistics of setting up an expanded and interconnected cinematic universe may have been more of a burden to deal with. Not that Warner Bros. didn’t trust Affleck t deliver, but they preferred to assign the task to filmmaker Matt Reeves.
Under Reeves, the director has decided to start his film from scratch. Affleck and DC Entertainment Creative Director Geoff Johns were initially working on the story and script for The Batman. Affleck has expressed an interest in appearing in the feature especially with Reeves at the helm, and as recently as SDCC suggested that playing he was “excited for the future of his character in the [expanded] DC film universe.” Perhaps he’s waiting to see how audiences respond to JL before he dives further into this world.
Justice League will be Affleck’s third time on screen as the Batman. He headlined as the Dark Knight in the aforementioned Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and cameoed in Suicide Squad before coming together with the other famous line-up in the DC Comics pantheon in the upcoming team-up adventure. Fans are hoping that Affleck will at least stick around to complete the story arc with Justice League, Part II and will be inspired to launch The Batman before passing the baton to another actor. Given the production schedules for these features, the news still all conjectural.
Justice League opens in theaters nationwide on November 17 and is distributed through Warner Bros. Studios.
