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Ben Affleck has addressed his possible future as Batman, and I have to say I’m disappointed that the Snyderverse’s best Batman return can’t happen. It’s safe to say that director Zack Snyder’s DC movies were controversial. Not all of that was on him, as the previous regime at DC did not have a clear plan for how to handle the franchise, which led to many behind-the-scenes issues. Sadly, one of the best live-action Batman actors we have seen, Affleck, drew the short end of the stick with the DCEU.
Not only did Affleck’s debut film as Bruce Wayne, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, become perhaps the most divisive superhero movie of all time, but the actor never got to see his solo project materialize. To this day, I still mourn what Affleck’s solo Batman movie could have been, as the few details we know about it and Deathstroke’s inclusion all sound very exciting. Sadly, it seems like my dream Batman return also can’t happen to fix those issues after Affleck recently commented on his past and future when it comes to playing superheroes.
Ben Affleck Is Done With Superhero Movies
The Actor Has No Interest In A Marvel Or DC Return
While Affleck became famous in the superhero world for playing Batman, the Dark Knight was not the first superhero he gave life to. The actor played Marvel’s Daredevil in Matt Murdock’s 2003 solo film. Affleck also donned the Superman suit onscreen for Hollywoodland, which saw him play the first actor to bring the Man of Steel to live-action on TV, George Reeves. While the actor has a legacy in the superhero world, it seems like there will never be a new chapter in it, as Affleck does not want to be part of a superhero movie again.
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That reveal came during an interview with GQ, where Affleck noted that even his son was scared of his version of Batman, which made him realize that the tone was skewing “too old for a big part of the audience.” However, that is not the reason why Affleck has no desire to don the Batsuit or play another superhero again — Affleck’s Daredevil was in concept art for Deadpool & Wolverine but never appeared — with the actor claiming that decision is the result of the star losing interest in what excited him about the genre. Check out the fulll quote below:
“I loved doing the Batman movie. In terms of creatively, I really think that I like the idea and the ambition I had for it, which was of the sort of older, broken, damaged Bruce Wayne. And it was something we really went for in the first movie. But what happened was it started to skew too old for a big part of the audience. Like even my own son at the time was too scared to watch the movie. And so when I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh s—, we have a problem.’
I am not interested in going down that particular genre again, not because of that bad experience, but just: I’ve lost interest in what was of interest about it to me. But I certainly wouldn’t want to replicate an experience like that. A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations. And also by the way, I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either. I had my own failings, significant failings, in that process and at that time… in terms of why I had a bad experience, part of it is that what I was bringing to work every day was a lot of unhappiness. So I wasn’t bringing a lot of positive energy to the equation. I didn’t cause problems, but I came in and I did my job and I went home. But you’ve got to do a little bit better than that.”
I Wanted To See Ben Affleck’s Batman Return For A Crisis On Infinite Earths Movie
The Multiverse Is The Perfect Way To Tap Into DC’s Snyderverse
While there are loyal fans who continue to campaign for the Snyderverse to return on Netflix on another streamer so that Zack Snyder’s vision for the Justice League can be put onscreen, I don’t think that is possible. The studio has moved on, with James Gunn’s new DC Universe being the focus. That said, I think the Snyderverse, or at least its most popular stars, could have come back in a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie. The multiverse story is one of DC’s best, and the Arrowverse adaptation of it showed the event’s live-action potential.
There were even rumors leading up to The Flash’s release in 2023 about how Affleck could come back in such a scenario. My dream for a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie would be that Affleck’s Batman, Henry Cavill’s Superman, and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman would be stuck in a separate dimension, such as the one Alexander Luthor and other characters did in the comics. The DCEU’s Trinity could play a key role in the event, while the studio could leave the door open for them to appear down the line again if the multiverse story became a hit.
How Batman’s Movie Future Could Make Up For Affleck’s Decision
James Gunn Has Plans For Multiple Versions Of Bruce Wayne
While the DCEU might have been controversial, I think that Affleck’s Batman is easily one of its most popular aspects. That means the actor who takes over as the main Batman going forward will have big shoes to fill. DC is lessening the impact of that by having plans for two versions of Bruce Wayne to co-exist in live-action. After the success of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Robert Pattinson will continue as that universe’s Dark Knight for two more films. A new Batman will be cast for The Brave and the Bold movie and the new DCU as a whole.
While I’m cautiously optimistic due to the series of delays and uncertainty surrounding both the Elseworlds Batman franchise and the DCU’s Bruce Wayne, if DC manages to get both versions of the character going, then there could be many exciting stories for Batman on the big screen in the coming years. Two very different takes on Batman could pull in the best elements of Affleck’s portrayal, with Pattinson’s Batman being part of a darker world, while the DCU Bruce Wayne could be a veteran hero leading the Bat-Family. While Ben Affleck’s Batman is done, the hero’s movie future sounds exciting.
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