Farewell Batfleck, we hardly knew you. Rumors had been swirling for some time that Ben Affleck’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been cut, though now it seems that James Gunn has achieved what the Joker could only dream of and gotten rid of Batman. This means that The Flash is now Affleck’s swansong as the Dark Knight, and what a bum note to go out on.
Fans on r/DC_Cinematic are pouring one out for this take on the hero. It’s worth remembering that Affleck’s casting was met with howls of rage from the fandom, which were only compounded by the reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But time has healed those wounds and, after Zack Snyder’s Justice League, many have been left wishing this Batman had gotten a solo movie:
The consensus is that this Batman never truly got a chance to shine. Don’t forget that The Batman was once planned as a solo vehicle for Ben Affleck, with him both starring in, writing and directing his own adventure. The directing job eventually went to Matt Reeves, and soon the Pattinson Batman was at the core of it.
Others compare Affleck to prior Batmen, and it’s worth remembering that over Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League and The Flash he’s had a decent amount of screentime. For example, Michael Keaton only got two movies before the role was given to Val Kilmer, with both he and George Clooney getting a single outing each.
The gold standard has to be Christian Bale, who is the only on-screen Batman to have a completed character arc. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy followed the hero right up until his retirement, and we wish we’d gotten to see Affleck deal with the Knightmare reality in the Justice League sequels.
The multiverse is a big place and there’ll always be a hope that Affleck might one day climb back into the cape and cowl, but for now we’ll turn our gaze to the night sky and rue a hero whose true nemesis wasn’t a costumed clown, but moronic studio executives.
