It’s been widely understood for a while now that Matt Reeves’ The Batman will see someone new in the cape and cowl, but when Ben Affleck appeared last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor’s retirement was made official with a quick little ceremony.
Late last month, the Justice League star seemed to verify that all we’d heard was true when he took to social media to show his support for the torch passing to a younger talent. And when Kimmel brought up the recent reports to Affleck, the actor once more confirmed his departure, before offering some context to his decision.
“Yeah, I am. I have decided… I tried to direct a version of it, worked with a really good screenwriter, but couldn’t come up with a version,” Affleck said. “Couldn’t crack it. So I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it and they got some really good people.”
Kimmel then informed the star that he had “a little surprise” for Affleck, at which point his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez showed up in a Robin costume and carrying Batman’s Cape, albeit with the name “BATFLECK” on the back and the number 12 in reference to Tom Brady. As his costume was hung up in the rafters, Affleck joked that the number was on his costume the whole time, and that Warner Bros. had to pay $80 million to have it digitally removed.
With Affleck now out of the game, recent weeks have seen a continuing stream of rumors and suggestions make the rounds on who could inherit the role, from Robert Pattinson to Kit Harington. It could still be a few months before we hear an official casting announcement, but whoever our next Caped Crusader is, we’ll be seeing them in action when The Batman hits theaters on June 25th, 2021.