Ben Affleck is done playing Batman, having passed the Batpoon to Robert Pattinson, who will make his Dark Knight debut in 2021’s The Batman. The Oscar winner was originally tasked with writing and directing the film, as well as starring, but he dropped out after he showed the script to someone and was told, “I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went though again.” Affleck also lost “passion” for the role, as would anyone after being in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League in a two-year span:
“I kind of lost my passion for telling those stories, I got interested in telling stories more like [The Way Back], and it just seemed like very clear to me that if it’s not the most important thing in the world to you, you’re not going to make a very good movie. The movie deserves to be made by someone whose dying to do it and can’t wait, and that wasn’t me at the time, so I moved on.”
But while promoting his inspiring high school basketball movie The Way Back, Affleck shared the one way he would return as Batman.
“I’ll go see [Robert’s movie]. I think it’s gonna be great. He’s great. But this is the kind of story I’m interested in telling now,” he told BeliefNet, referring to The Way Back, before jokingly adding, “Maybe a very old Batman. With a walker.” I would watch a movie where Batman is Alfred’s age. Who needs a walker when you can have a… Caine?
The Way Back opens on March 6.
