New Batman Casting News Will Reportedly Come This Year

Fans are patiently waiting for news on DC Comics and Warner Bros. next Batman movie, appropriately titled The Batman, despite uncertainty over Ben Affleck‘s future in the role.

Rumors have been swirling about the latest film to star the Caped Crusader, but fans shouldn’t have to wait long to find out who the next actor will be to don the cowl — or if Affleck will make a surprising return.

According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, fans should expect casting news for The Batman sometime this year — which has to happen if Warner Bros. plans to begin shooting the film in 2019, as has been previously reported.

The report also mentions rumors that The Batman will feature a younger version of Bruce Wayne, which would necessitate recasting unless they decide to borrow Marvel Studios’ CGI de-aging technology.

Some rumors have suggested that a new actor could be cast AND Affleck could return, possibly bookending the film in a “flash forward” sequence with the bulk of the movie taking place in his younger days.

Given that writer and director Matt Reeves has only recently finished the script — and that a release date or production start has not yet been set — little is known about the potential film.

Reeves has offered minor teases, hinting that the film would feature the Bruce Wayne and Batman dynamic as a classic horror metaphor while speaking with Indie Wire at an event for the Television Critics Association.

“I think that it’s interesting, because one of the things that I’ve found interesting, just as we’re working on the story, is looking back at Jekyll and Hyde, and the idea of your shadow-self, and the idea of, we are all multiple things. It’s different aspects of who we are, and I think there are times when maybe the surface of Bruce is not really who he is, but that’s his disguise. There are times when Batman’s the disguise, but there are times when his true essence comes out, because by being veiled, a kind of instinctual side comes out that’s very pure.”

While there’s very little information about the next film in the Batman franchise, hopefully some news comes out very soon. The movie is rumored to begin filming sometime in 2019.

DC Comics’ next superhero movie hits theaters on April 5th, where Shazam! finally makes his big screen debut.