Last night, Ben Affleck was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he took part in a quick ceremony to mark his retirement from the role of the Caped Crusader. But before the star gave his old cape and cowl a formal sendoff, the actor had a few thoughts to share on why his version of The Batman never came together.
We’ve been hearing reports for a long time about difficulties and disagreements behind the scenes at Warner Bros., but while we may never know for sure exactly why things turned out the way they did, we at least have Affleck’s side of the story, with the star and filmmaker recalling the events as follows:
“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn’t come up with a version – I couldn’t crack it. And so it was time to let someone take a shot at it. They’ve got some really good people.”
Though it’s generally believed that Matt Reeves’ The Batman will take us back to an earlier point in the DCEU timeline and feature a younger actor in the title role, a report from last October alleged that Warner Bros. wanted Affleck to cameo as a means of connecting the upcoming film to the wider DCEU. But while the Justice League star was reportedly open to the idea, it’s said that Reeves wanted his film to stand on its own, without any of the potential baggage brought by the mixed reception to the Dark Knight’s previous two screen outings.
Such claims have yet to be officially confirmed, but after the box office success of Aquaman, Warner has made it clear that their emphasis for the time being will be on standalone films, rather than Justice League-style crossover works. We can therefore assume that The Batman won’t have too much overlap with the rest of the DC universe, but we’ll find out if the movie can hold up on its own merits when it arrives in theaters on June 25th, 2021.
