Ever since Matt Reeves took over The Batman, completely rebuilding the project from the ground up with Robert Pattinson in the lead role, which was then followed by Zack Snyder’s Justice League becoming a reality at long last, fans have refused to give up on the idea of Ben Affleck returning as the DCEU’s canonical Caped Crusader on a more permanent basis.
During that time we’ve heard dozens upon dozens or unfounded, uncorroborated, and unconfirmed rumors touting that the actor is returning for this movie, that HBO Max series, or a cameo appearance over there, while the #MakeTheBatfleckMovie campaign trends on a regular basis.
Throughout it all, nobody seemed to take into consideration that maybe Affleck isn’t interested in sticking around as the iconic superhero for much longer, especially when he turns 50 in the summer and has been vocal in admitting he’s moving away from IP-driven roles altogether.
In bad news for SnyderVerse supporters, Affleck appeared to confirm to The Herald Sun that his supporting role in The Flash will mark the end of the line for his popular iteration of the nocturnal vigilante.
“I hope they maintain the integrity of what we did because I thought it was great and really interesting — different, but not in a way that is incongruent with the character. Who knows? Maybe they will decide that it doesn’t work, but when I went and did it, it was really fun and really, really satisfying and encouraging and I thought, ‘Wow — I think I have finally figured it out. [It was a] really nice finish on my experience with that character.”
One positive is that The Batman looks awesome, and Michael Keaton was recently confirmed for Batgirl, so at least we’ve still got a pair of talented actors sticking around as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego for the foreseeable future.