Just when you thought the constant speculation revolving around the SnyderVerse had died down following San Diego Comic-Con after Jim Lee’s admission that nothing is currently in the works, which was compounded by those Henry Cavill rumors fizzling out, along comes Jason Momoa to reveal that Ben Affleck is returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
On the surface, the reasons as to why the DCEU’s canonical Caped Crusader is making yet another comeback are fairly simple. Once upon a time, The Flash was scheduled to release prior to Arthur Curry’s second solo adventure, with both Affleck and Michael Keaton playing Bruce Wayne in the former.
However, Keaton also reprises the role in Batgirl, which is now looking as though it’ll be delayed until after The Flash so that the sequence of Dark Knights runs from Affleck in Aquaman 2 into the pair of them in the Scarlet Speedster’s long-awaited standalone blockbuster, ending in Tim Burton’s Batman shouldering the load in the HBO Max exclusive.
Of course, the internet being what it is (and the SnyderVerse subset admirably refusing to let the candle burn out), social media was instantly awash with scuttlebutt, hearsay, and much eye-rolling in the wake of the news.
We’ve been hearing for years that Affleck is slowly being phased out of the DCEU, and while that may yet remain true, in the worst case scenario his stay of execution has been extended that little bit longer by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Then again, maybe a more permanent comeback is indeed on the cards.