Yesterday, it was reported that Warner Bros. could be ready to usher Ben Affleck out of The DC Extended Universe by casting someone as as Batman.
The report drew some skepticism, even though it was initially reported by the usually accurate Hollywood Reporter.
Per the report:
A source with knowledge of the situation says that the studio is working on plans to usher out Affleck’s Batman — gracefully, addressing the change in some shape or form in one of the upcoming DC films.
Exactly when and how that might happen has yet to be determined, but it would be wise to bet against Affleck starring in The Batman. Already he has stepped away from directing the film and Reeves is dropping the script that Affleck wrote with D.C. Entertainment’s Geoff Johns.
Reeves also has acknowledged that he has a Batman trilogy rolling around in his head, and given his success making two-thirds of a trilogy out of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, it seems fair to anticipate that Warners will want him to realize his vision.
None of that really sounded to far-fetched, until they bashed his physical appearance in what read as a report written by a 12 year old:
And while male stars have been able to stretch their action-film relevance further in an age when there are fewer bankable young stars (Robert Downey, Jr. is 52 and going strong as Iron Man), studios favor the fresh-faced — look what happened with Spider-Man, successfully rebooted with 21-year-old Tom Holland. (Affleck also just dropped out of the Netflix project Triple Frontier, and it’s not clear what his next movie will be. His reps declined to comment.)
Well, today, Ben Affleck had the following to say during the Justice League panel at San Diego Comic Con:
“Let me be clear,” said Affleck. “Batman is the greatest f–king part in the world. I am thrilled to do it.”
He even said that he would stand in the background as an ape for Matt Reeves, so it appears he’s totally on board with Reeves as director.
We’ll see the character next when Justice League hits theaters this November. Until then, be sure to check out the amazing footage that was released at San Diego Comic Con.