Another day, another “Batman” rumor which always seems to contradict the last report. And it’s the same kind of back and forth pendulum-swinging story. Gossip and hearsay have swirled for months on whether or not Ben Affleck will be staying on as Batman in the DCEU.
It all started over a year ago when Affleck stepped down as director for the upcoming “The Batman,” which consequently left the job open for Matt Reeves from the “Planet Of The Apes” series. Affleck has also been going through personal problems, coupled with the fact that “Batman V. Superman” was met with vicious reviews and it seems like the guy probably needs to take a breather. Of course, it’s hard to relax when Warner Bros. is counting on you to be their Batman. Through all this Affleck has explicitly denied retiring the cape.
However, if Affleck’s denials quelled rumors for a time, they’re flaring up again tonight like a bad rash. Obviously, there’s been a big shakeup over at Warner Bros. and DCEU; Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns stepped down today. Last week it was Diane Nelson who left as DC Entertainment President. If it’s not clear, WB is not happy with the mediocre results of “Justice League.”
Now, Revenge of the Fans reports that Ben Affleck knew that Reeves wanted to make a Batman film with a younger version of the character, with an older version in the bookend of the film as well, and that the the actor still wanted to take part.
So, instead of playing Batman for the whole film, Affleck’s Old Man Batman would pretty much be narrating the film and telling of his exploits as a younger man, with whoever they would hire to take on the younger role. However, Reeves quickly turned down this pitch as he thought it would distract and not do justice to the movie he was trying to make.