AQUAMAN 2 Director James Wan Explains Why Ben Affleck's Batman "Probably" Won't Appear

AQUAMAN 2 Director James Wan Explains Why Ben Affleck's Batman "Probably" Won't Appear

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom star Jason Momoa revealed that Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman would be part of the DC sequel last year, and James Wan has now revealed why his scenes were (probably) cut...

By MarkCassidy - Oct 26, 2023 11:10 AM EST

Ben Affleck's take on Bruce Wayne/Batman was heavily rumored to return for James Wan's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom during production, and star Jason Momoa actually announced his Justice League co-star's involvement in an Instagram post last year.

This obviously indicated that Affleck did shoot scenes for the film, but reports from test-screenings claimed he was nowhere to be seen, seemingly confirming that Warner Bros. made the decision to remove the character from the DC sequel.

Since then, it's come to light that the Lost Kingdom shoot wasn't exactly plain sailing, with reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil and extensive reshoots that altered significant aspects of the story.

While speaking to Empire for their latest issue, Wan was asked if we might still see Affleck's Caped Crusader in the movie.

"Probably not. All I'll say is that those scenes were just to have something in the bank in case we needed to explain time continuity if we came out first”.

This does actually gel with previous reports. Both Affleck and Michael Keaton's takes on the Dark Knight were said to feature in the sequel at one point, which studio execs were concerned about since it could potentially confuse audiences. Wan seems to be suggesting that the idea was scrapped when the decision was made to release The Flash first.

"Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.

All returning to the roles they originated, Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry/Aquaman, no, after w balancing his duties as both the King of Atlantis and a new father; Patrick Wilson is Orm, Aquaman’s half-brother and his nemesis, who must now step into a new role as his brother’s reluctant ally; Amber Heard is Mera, Atlantis’ Queen and mother of the heir to the throne; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is Black Manta, committed more than ever to avenge his father’s death by destroying Aquaman, his family and Atlantis; and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, a fierce leader and mother with the heart of a warrior. Also reprising their roles are Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus and Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin."

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to swim into theaters on December 20.

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DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/26/2023, 11:38 AM


Because he sucked as Batman & who cares?

RolandD
RolandD - 10/26/2023, 12:15 PM
@DocSpock - Thanks for sharing your opinion. I disagree. His Batman absolutely should have been written better, but I thought he was fine in the role.
Arthorious
Arthorious - 10/26/2023, 12:16 PM
@RolandD - I liked his interaction with Alfred quite a bit
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 10/26/2023, 12:23 PM
@DocSpock -


What's funny is that everyone is saying Gunn is gonna let directors have freedom but he literally is cutting cameos and shooting stuff and jamming it into these dead projects. If anything Gunn is gonna be far worse than feige😳
RolandD
RolandD - 10/26/2023, 12:46 PM
@Arthorious - Agreed. It wasn’t at the level of Bale and Caine as they had a fantastic dynamic but it was good and fit the movie.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/26/2023, 12:52 PM
@AmazingFILMporg -

He is making Monster Squad, Peacemaker season 2, putting about 50 C-list characters in Superman, & working with Moose-sh!tty on Brave & Bold.

It is TOOOO much. He needs to back burner all that and just do SUPERMAN.

Ha1frican
Ha1frican - 10/26/2023, 11:45 AM
Man it’s your movie how are you not sure lol
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 10/26/2023, 12:03 PM
@Ha1frican - Because the overlords could call at any moments and say "put the scene back in, christmas is near and we have new batman legos coming out".
Cap1
Cap1 - 10/26/2023, 11:46 AM
A man unsure about what his own movie contains. Fills you with confidence, doesn't it
DTor91
DTor91 - 10/26/2023, 11:51 AM
Total bull. No one wasted time and money and bringing back someone me like Affleck just to have “backup.”
Forthas
Forthas - 10/26/2023, 12:05 PM
I am not dissapointed in the least. I am not a fan of Affleck's Batman, but that stated, Afleck is not a FOG (freind of Gunn) so he needed to be axed. Based on his interview about his views on Gunn, it sounds like he is only too happy to move on.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/26/2023, 12:28 PM
Ben Affleck’s cameo in The Flash was one of the better parts of that train wreck of a movie.
RolandD
RolandD - 10/26/2023, 12:48 PM
@mountainman - His new costume was a downgrade but there interactions were good.
mountainman
mountainman - 10/26/2023, 1:36 PM
@RolandD - Yeah the costume wasn’t that cool, but the action and dialog were both good. I actually thought I may like the movie until that horrible baby scene happened.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/26/2023, 12:48 PM

@AmazingFILMporg -

I do not have blind faith in Gunn or his proposed supposed methods for multiple projects. I think he is trying to load way too many characters everywhere & having people spend too much oomph on lesser characters.

His everything should be into making a great Superman movie. If he blows that, none of the other stuff will matter.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 10/26/2023, 1:01 PM
It's more than likely a throw anyway movie like Flash. No biggie.
WeaponXCII
WeaponXCII - 10/26/2023, 2:27 PM
I was going to comment "How does he now know who is in his own movie?", but it looks like some of you guys already took care of that for me.
BeNice123
BeNice123 - 10/27/2023, 11:27 AM
The selfie pic of those 2 is wholesome and genuine, its awesome. Like a big brother little brother moment. Makes me happy.

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