Ever since the start of the DCEU in 2013, Ben Affleck portrays Bruce Wayne aka Batman. He first appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice where he starred alongside Henry Cavill's Superman and he was triumphant in the battle between the two titular heroes, the two of the most popular heroes under DC.
Affleck reprised his role in the 2017 theatrical release of Justice League and will reportedly be returning in the upcoming The Flash solo film alongside Ezra Miller's Barry Allen where he would be Batman together with Michael Keaton or Christian Bale. The said film would be establishing the concept of the multiverse where there are versions of Batman from different universes.
Recently, Affleck's Batman appeared in Zack Snyder's Justice League, the director's take on the film. However, with the course of the events, many are asking whether Affleck would remain to be the Batman of the DCEU.
There are a lot of factors to be considered on whether or not Affleck would still be DCEU's Batman.
First up, Affleck is DCEU's Batman since the beginning of the extended universe. Although there are a number of Batman portrayals that exist, it is Affleck's Batman which is canon to DCEU. Retaining Affleck as the Batman of DCEU would make complete sense since he is the Batman who started it all in this universe. His presence would provide continuity and familiarity.
Second, Affleck's Batman fits into Barry Allen's life and he is pivotal in the development of the young hero. Sure, Barry as The Flash is already a hero of his own, but it was Bruce who pulled him out of wherever he is hiding and tagged him to be with the Justice League to be able to take down Steppenwolf. Affleck's Batman gave Miller's The Flash the pep talk of what being a hero means.
The two characters are intertwined especially in their emotional perspective. Yes, The Flash will be focusing on Barry Allen's story but in that same story, Batman perfectly fits as well as he could understand what Barry is going through especially with the loss of Barry's mother – that is something Batman can give to Barry, the emotional anchor.
Third, Affleck already expressed his interest in the role which could carry on through years. It could be remembered that before Matt Reeves arrived in being the director and writer of Robert Pattinson's Batman, it was Ben Affleck who was supposed to be sitting in the director's chair, as well as the writing and producing chairs, had fate been kind to him.
That was a rough patch in Affleck's life. He got divorced from Jennifer Garner, he suffered from depression, he had an alcohol addiction, and he went in and out of rehabilitation programs. While Affleck would love to continue working on Batman, he was not in the best shape to put such a heavy burden on himself.
Now that he has recovered from those, he can actually play the role of Batman sans the stress of life had gone through before. Appearing in The Flash, Affleck can now enjoy donning the Batman suit and being the character.
However, despite all these, there's a bump on the road. Snyder wouldn't be there. Affleck is known to be one of the biggest fans of the director that when he was tapped to become the Batman, he really meant it when he said yes. Now that Snyder has drifted away from the DCEU following what happened in the theatrical release of Justice League and the SnyderCut. According to Small Screen, Affleck would only return as Batman after The Flash if the SnyderVerse continues.
Do you think Ben Affleck would remain as Batman for the DCEU? Looking at the current line-up of films in the DCEU, there is not much space where Batman could step-in. Currently, the films that are slated are James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, The Flash solo movie, Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Aquaman 2. There is still more time whether Affleck would stay in the DCEU as Batman.
Ben Affleck's Batman will return in The Flash which is scheduled for release on November 4, 2022.
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