Ben Affleck’s tenure as the Caped Crusader has been dogged by rumors that he’s set to quit the part after Justice League, with each flurry of gossip quickly followed by an interview with Affleck where he states that there’s no greater pleasure than playing Batman, that he’ll play the character for as long as Warner Bros. will have him and now, in an interview with Geek Magazine, that portraying the hero is a dream come true.
“Playing Batman was a boyhood dream come true for me, so playing Batman alongside the Justice League? I mean, what can you say? The first time we all stood on set in costume, we just looked around at each other and you could tell it was a big moment for each one of us.”
For my part, I think it’s unlikely that we’ll see Affleck in the suit again once Justice League is all said and done. Sure, playing Batman might have been a childhood dream for him (albeit a common enough one for kids), but you don’t have to read between the lines too hard to see that the dream might have curdled into a minor nightmare for Affleck.
Firstly, he was clearly stung by the onslaught of criticism aimed at Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. For my money, his performance was one of the few positives of that disaster, but it was hardly a shining debut for his version of the character. Then there’s him dropping out of directing the solo DCEU Batman film and being a tiny bit evasive when asked to confirm he’ll be in it, the fact that at 45-years-old it’s got to be an incredible toll to maintain an appropriately Batman-ish physique and, well, shooting and promoting these films eats up a lot of time he could be spending developing and directing his own projects.
I predict one of two things happening. If WB pulls Justice League out of the bag and it’s a critical and commercial smash (which right now is looking a mite shaky given the unconvincing trailers), we’ll see him hang on until the solo Batman movie. If it’s a flop, he’ll be gone by Christmas. In either event, come the conveniently universe-resetting events of Flashpoint, I reckon we’ll see a minor reset of the DCEU complete with a brand new Batman.
Think I’m talking out of my ass? Let me know why in the comments section below.