Ben Affleck Reportedly on Way out as Batman Following Henry Cavill’s Exit

It seems the DC Extended Universe is heading for a big shake-up. A new report just revealed Henry Cavill is hanging up his Superman suit for good, but that he may not be the only actor graduating from the DCEU.

Earlier today, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Cavill is exiting the role of Superman after entering it years ago in Man of Steel. The report says Warner Bros. parted ways with the actor after negotiations for a Shazam! cameo fell

Affleck “isn’t expected to reprise his role for director Matt Reeves’ forthcoming Batman stand-alone film.” So far, Warner Bros. has yet to drop an official comment on Cavill’s exit, let alone Affleck’s, but rumors regarding the Batman shake-up have persisted for some time.

The ordeal began when news broke that Affleck was no longer directing The Batman. Eventually, Reeves was brought on by Warner Bros. to oversee the solo film, but rumors swirled that Affleck would use the opportunity to retire the Gotham Knight schtick. These theories have only grown in recent months, and a frenzy sparked online when Forbes writer Mark Hughes took to Twitter to reveal an inside look at the DCEU.

When the reporter was asked by a fan about Affleck’s part in The Batman, Hughes said the actor wasn’t involved. “He’s not Batman in this movie. As of now, there are no plans to involve Affleck, and the situation behind the scenes is that he’s been arranging his exit from the DCEU for months,” the reporter explained.

“I know fans hate to hear this, but it’s time to prepare yourselves for Batman without Affleck,” the reporter added.

Hughes was asked a follow-up question about whether his note was an official one. The writer hedged, saying he couldn’t make any official statements since he is not affiliated with Warner Bros., but Hughes stressed the debacle isn’t a hard one to see coming.

“I can’t ‘officially’ declare anything since I’m not at WB,” the writer continued. “But we’ve all known this was coming and have been saying it for months, it’s not really new. I ran an article on it a couple of months ago.”

So, do you think news of Affleck’s leave will be coming down the news line soon? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!