The Batman Never Had Plans to Include Ben Affleck

There are a lot of questions surrounding the new Batman movie, especially with all of the changes [...]

By Joe Schmidt

There are a lot of questions surrounding the new Batman movie, especially with all of the changes that have taken place over the last few years. After the mixed critical receptions and lacking box office numbers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Warner Bros. decided to go in a different direction when they hired Matt Reeves to write and direct a new Batman movie.

But while many fans thought Ben Affleck might reprise his role in the new movie, a lot of industry chatter indicated that he would have to step aside for a younger actor to reprise the role. After months of back and forth, Affleck finally confirmed his departure and then Robert Pattinson was revealed to be the next actor to wear the cape and cowl.

According to a new report from the Hollywood Reporter, Affleck was never going to factor into Reeves' new film. This makes the prolonged announcements much more baffling, considering the new filmmaker never planned on Affleck playing a role, alongside the dragged-out reveal that Pattinson would be the newest Batman actor.

Previous rumors rumors indicated that Affleck's Batman could play a role in the new film, like a narrator going over his previous adventures that would then allow the new actor to take ownership of the role.

But apparently Reeves had a different approach in mind, and now we're starting to move forward in an Affleck-less world in the DC movie universe. The director and writer previously spoke about how the film would be leaning harder into Batman's title as the World's Greatest Detective, showing more of a noir-focused corner of Batman's journey.

""It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," Reeves told the Hollywood Reporter. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation."

The Batman is currently set to hit theaters on June 25, 2021.

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