DC Films president Walter Hamada may have confirmed that the plan is to go ahead with two separate Batman franchises set in different pockets of the multiverse, but if the constant speculation surrounding Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight is to be taken at face value, then we’re going to end up with three.
It came as a surprise when Michael Keaton was said to be the DCEU’s canonical Caped Crusader moving forward, which might indicate that The Flash could mark Affleck’s last stand after he suits up as Batman for a record fourth live-action movie. That being said, the two-time Academy Award winning actor and filmmaker has found himself the subject of intense whispering that he’ll be sticking around for a long time to come.
In fact, tipster Mikey Sutton is now claiming that discussions have taken place behind the scenes about potentially adapting classic comic book Batman: The Killing Joke for HBO Max, with Affleck and Jared Leto’s Joker at the center of the story. Much like his onscreen archenemy, the Clown Prince of Crime has been named in conjunction with upwards of a dozen future projects, but as of yet, neither is signed on beyond their next outings in The Flash and Justice League, respectively.
Longtime fans would love to see a hard R-rated take on The Killing Joke that remains true to the source material, though, and it would no doubt generate a lot of buzz for HBO Max. And while there are a lot of ifs, maybes and variables to consider, it would certainly be a shame if both Affleck’s Batman and Leto’s Joker remained part of the DC Universe for so many years without ever getting the chance to face off in any major capacity.