Ben Affleck was able to end his run as Batman on a high note, feeling much better about his time spent as the Dark Knight after reprising the role for The Flash. After making his debut in the DCEU in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Affleck returned as Batman for the superhero crossover movie Justice League. That movie is infamous for its tumultuous production stemming from Joss Whedon taking over as director when Zack Snyder stepped down.
After his version of The Batman wound up folding, it seemed that Ben Affleck was finished as the DCEU’s Batman. That has changed courtesy of Andy Muschietti, whose upcoming movie The Flash brings back Batfleck for what could be his final appearance. Speaking about his return, Ben Affleck explained in a new interview with Variety how fun it was to slip back into the Batsuit for The Flash after the bad experience he had filming Justice League.
“It was a really nice way to revisit that as the prior experience had been difficult. This was really lovely. Really fun. I had a great time… I’m probably under some gag order that I’m not even aware that I probably just violated and I’m now going to be sued… I love Ezra [Miller] and I had a chance to see Jason [Momoa], who’s over there [in the UK] making [Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom].”
There was more footage of Ben Affleck’s Batman seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and this had led to many fans campaigning for Warner Bros. to “make the Batfleck movie.” Even so, there are no plans for Affleck to star in another movie at this time, so it could be that The Flash serves as the swansong for this Batman. As Affleck explained, this wouldn’t be so bad as he was able to bring some fun back into the role so he can look back at playing Batman more fondly.
Of course, Batfleck won’t be the only Batman in The Flash. It’s been widely reported that Michael Keaton will also be reprising his own incarnation of the Dark Knight that he played in Tim Burton’s Batman movies for The Flash as well. Like many superhero movies these days, The Flash will be incorporating a multiverse storyline into its plot, opening the door for different versions of the came characters to appear. It remains to be seen if the two Bat-men will meet on camera, but that would be an amazing moment, certainly.
There was a point where The Batman was meant to be a solo movie starring Ben Affleck. When he stepped away from the project, in part due to his negative experiences filming Justice League, the movie was retooled to be set in a standalone universe with a new actor. Robert Pattinson will play that version of Batman with Matt Reeves directing.
Andy Muschietti directs The Flash using a script by Christina Hodson. Ezra Miller leads the cast as Barry Allen, reprising his role from the DCEU. Sasha Calle also makes her DCEU debut as Supergirl in the movie. The Flash also stars Kiersey Clemons, Maribel Verdu, Ron Livingston, and of course, Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton. It is due for a release in movie theaters on Nov. 4, 2022. This news comes to us from Variety.