Momoa wrote in the caption: "REUNITED bruce and arthur. love u and miss u Ben WB studio tours just explored the backlot alright. busted on set all great things coming AQUAMAN 2 all my aloha j."
The picture shows Affleck sporting his signature Bruce Wayne look. It appears that the reveal was motivated by WB Studio Tour visitors spotting Affleck and Momoa together during filming, as the latter stated in the video, "Well, we tried to keep it a secret."
No more details were provided about his part, though Affleck's appearance in Aquaman 2 doesn't necessarily mean he will continue playing Bruce Wayne for the foreseeable future. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled for release in March 2023, and The Flash (which seems to be Affleck's last time playing the character) will be released three months later, in June 2023.
It's worth noting that Momoa appeared to indicate that he was filming with Affleck recently, which is curious, because James Wan announced in January of 2022 that filming on Aquaman 2 had wrapped.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Wan (@creepypuppet)
A post shared by James Wan (@creepypuppet)
If these pictures are indeed recent, Ben Affleck's Batman is likely a late addition. While speculating on what exactly that means for his part is difficult given how little is known about the plot of the Aquaman sequel, it could be he is being saved either for a tag (similar to his appearance in the post-credits scene of Suicide Squad) or a cameo.
When Affleck's involvement as Bruce Wayne in The Flash was officially revealed by Vanity Fair, the film's director, Andy Muschietti, teased an important role for the actor:
"He's a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck's Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven't seen before. It's Barry's movie, it's Barry's story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that's one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That's where the Affleck Batman kicks in. He's the baseline. He's part of that unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure. There's a familiarity there."
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be released on March 17, 2023.