Ben Affleck may have put months of speculation to bed by signing on the dotted line to make his comeback as the DCEU’s Batman in The Flash, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive that his renewed involvement in the franchise could continue well past the closing credits of the Scarlet Speedster’s solo debut.
Before his return was made official, there were reports making the rounds that Warner Bros.’ parent company AT&T were the ones pushing to get the two-time Academy Award winner back on board, something they hinted at pretty strongly on their social media accounts. But you can also guarantee that Affleck feels as if he has unfinished business with the Dark Knight after being swallowed up by the Justice League debacle and then ultimately retiring from the role entirely for the sake of his own well-being.
While The Flash could very well turn out to be a one and done return for him, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the 48 year-old would be back under the cape and cowl a month before it was officially announced – that Affleck isn’t completely against the idea of finally making a standalone Batman movie, but he wants creative control over it if he does. According to our intel, the current pitch is for a prequel of sorts that takes place before Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, freeing it from the shackles of continuity. And it’d most likely be made for HBO Max.
It’s hard to say if he’ll get what he wants, but you can understand the actor’s position when he was initially set to direct, co-write, executive produce and star in The Batman, which is a level of creative involvement that nobody’s ever had in the genre before. And having already walked away once, you can guarantee that Ben Affleck won’t even entertain the idea of another Dark Knight movie unless it happens on his terms.
