So at this point, it seems like most folks are trying to will Ben Affleck to leave the role of Batman in the DC Extended Universe. The real question here is why they’d want that considering Affleck’s take on the character has been solid, far from the issues you read about Justice League, Warner Bros., and the troubles that have forced a few changes behind the scenes.
But still, whenever something happens involving Warner, it doesn’t take too long until the rumors about Ben Affleck leaving start to return. This time it follows the departure of Geoff Johns from DC Entertainment and stems from a report from Deadline that outlined the future for Warner Bros. comic film properties:
There is an opportunity for Toby Emmerich to really reshuffle the executive deck on the feature side and turn DC into something more formidable than it is right now, even as a James Wan-directed Aquaman is coming and Wonder Woman 2 is in production, with Matt Reeves rebooting Batman for a new standalone franchise, likely with a new actor to play the Caped Crusader after Ben Affleck’s stints in Batman V Superman and Justice League.
The spark for the rumors is that last bit about Matt Reeves’ The Batman and it being a reboot for Batman on the big screen — replacing Affleck with a new actor. None of this is new, and Jake Gyllenhaal even got pulled into the rumors last time around, but nothing came of it.
And given the existence of two films about The Joker, both occupying different portions of the DC film universe, the idea that Ben Affleck wouldn’t be in The Batman doesn’t mean he’s out as The Dark Knight. It could just mean the film isn’t going to be part of the main Justice League-led movie universe. The problem there is that Affleck was initially involved and was directing the film before he decided to step back.
That is the original creative shuffle that gave birth to Affleck being finished with Batman and the main reason these details continue to pop up. The only facts that are confirmed at this point are Matt Reeves directing the next Batman film, and any movie that might feature Affleck’s Batman isn’t scheduled before then — unless he pops up in Flashpoint. So it could be a while before there is any reliable information unless DC brings a major surprise at Comic-Con.
(Via Deadline / Slash Film / i09)