Considering where the DCEU stands, and the already-announced plans for the Batman character, it seems improbable, not to say impossible, that fans will ever see a BatFleck movie. It’s probably best for fans and detractors alike to put this one in the “what might have been” column and move on.
The future seemed bright when Ben Affleck first donned the cape, stepping in as Bruce Wayne for the sequel to Man of Steel, aptly titled Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Though this was billed as a Superman movie, Affleck’s Batman was featured heavily, and it seemed certain that the character was being set up for a solo movie or two, on top of the long-awaited Justice League team-up. However, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, despite earning $875 million worldwide, didn’t live up to the studio’s expectations, and though the movie remains beloved by many fans to this day, it also boasts a very large contingent of detractors.
Hopes for the character – and the DCEU, really, rested on a Justice League movie that ran into its share of issues. First Zack Snyder, the movie’s director, had to drop out due to an unexpected family tragedy. The filming had wrapped by that time, but Warner Bros. still elected to bring a new director to finish the film, Joss Whedon. The Avengers director famously re-shot a great deal of the movie, to the extent that when fans finally got to watch the famed Snyder Cut this year, that movie looked very different from the theatrical release.
Whedon also faced racism and sexism allegations. Cyborg’s storyline was severely trimmed for the original Justice League, and Ray Fisher would go on to publicly condemn Whedon’s treatment of him on the film. Wonder Woman, meanwhile, though still a powerful figure, was clearly presented through a male lens, and subjected to indignities like the “character falls on her boobs” kind of joke. Considering Whedon had previously pulled this same trick in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it’s easy to trace this idea to its source.
It’s hard to say how much all these things might have contributed to the result. Facts are clear, however. Justice League made much less than the previously “disappointing to the studio” Batman v Superman at the box office with only 658$ million. Most of this tally came from the international box office, too, with the movie making only a disappointing $230 million of that total at the U.S box office. For all intents and purposes, Justice League was a disappointment, for everyone involved.
This all led to Warner Bros. recalibrating. New characters were brought to the forefront, new storytelling ideas pursued, new names brought in to provide a different perspective. One of those was a complete reboot of Batman, one featuring a younger version of the caped crusader introduced in Batman v Superman. This character would, of course, not be played by Ben Affleck. Instead, Robert Pattinson, of Twilight fame, was cast as the new Bruce Wayne.
For a while, this seemed like the end. There didn’t seem to be any way fans were ever going to see BatFleck in a solo movie. For a while fans weren’t even sure they were going to see The Flash, either. Aquaman was still a possibility. Only Wonder Woman was confirmed for a second solo outing: Wonder Woman 1984, which was released last year, to mixed reviews. The rest was up in the air.
Aquaman 2 was confirmed late last year, but it’s not a reach to say the interest in Zack Snyder’s Justice League changed the conversation about these characters and their potential for the future. Despite Wonder Woman 1984 not being as well-received as the first movie, there’s a renewed interest in a possible third installment. The Flash movie finally started filming after numerous delays, and it's set to feature at least two versions of Batman (Michael Keaton is also set to reprise his role) and introduce Supergirl to the DCEU. Rumors of a possible return to the Superman role by Henry Cavill abound, but, despite a confirmed appearance as Bruce Wayne in The Flash movie, conventional thinking seems to indicate that Ben Affleck’s time as Batman is likely over beyond that.
This is probably a two-way street. Warner Bros has moved on with The Batman, and though the character has unlimited potential, the studio doesn’t seem interested in having two actors playing Batman at the same time. Fans have also seen very little from Affleck to confirm he’s even interested in reprising the role beyond what could be a more elegant way to write him off the DCEU in The Flash movie. If Bruce Wayne does die in this movie, that would mean Warner Bros. has chosen to bet on The Batman. Even if he doesn’t, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a future for BatFleck. Everyone has to hang up the cape at some point.