Reportedly, Ben Affleck is still Batman for now, but that may change before the Dark Knight’s next big screen appearance.
A report from Revenge of the Fans suggests that Ben Affleck is still in as Batman for now and that it’s his role to lose. The situation is being actively negotiated.
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Here’s the quote from Revenge of the Fans’ source:
“The present Batman is still Affleck. A change in cowl will not happen publicly until Ben is officially gone, and he is currently The Batman. But like we have said, it’s a negotiation thing right now. Not money, but appearances and creative. Ben isn’t wanting to vacate, but not wanting to commit fully.”
The report explains that Affleck’s problem with the role isn’t the pay or even that he doesn’t want to be Batman, but that the role has monopolized his time in a way he was not expecting. When Affleck signed on for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, he reportedly expected a schedule similar to what director Christopher Nolan had when filming The Dark Knight Trilogy. Nolan was able to make a movie of his own in-between installments of the Batman franchise.
But the DC Extended Universe hasn’t provided such stability for Affleck. Justice League releasing just 20 months after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice already presented Affleck with a tight filming schedule. Having to return for major reshoots with a new director, Joss Whedon, and many script tweaks only made matters worse. The experience essentially burned Affleck out.
Adding to the problem is that Warner Bros. is reportedly not entirely pleased with what Affleck has brought to the franchise. They hoped Affleck would “RDJ” the DC Extended Universe, meaning that he’d quickly become the face and the cornerstone of the DC Extended Universe the same way that Robert Downey Jr. did for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Iron Man. So far, in their estimation, that has not been the case.
The Batman director Matt Reeves has reportedly reached out to Jake Gyllenhaal about taking over as Batman if Affleck drops out, but no official moves will be made until Affleck makes his choice.
Justice League currently has a 60.72 ComicBook.com Composite Score and a 3.68 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Rating. Let us know what you thought of Justice League by giving the movie your own ComicBook.com User Rating below.
Justice League releases on Digital on February 13th and on Blu-ray on March 13th.
The film will be followed in the DC Extended Universe by Aquaman on December 21st, Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.
