On Friday, we learned that Warner Bros. is planning on gracefully ushering Ben Affleck out of the Batman role and potentially replacing his Bruce Wayne with a different character in the cowl.
However, during yesterday's Warner Bros. Hall H panel, Ben Affleck made it clear he has no intentions of stepping down. Entertainment Weekly caught up with the actor once that was over and he was quick to reiterate that point. "My status remains what it always is. I’ve done the two movies. I’ve always intended on doing a third if Warners wants to make it. Certainly, if the Batphone rings, I will answer." That's cool but he did say the same thing about directing The Batman for a long time!
Speaking of which, Affleck went on to blame his decision to step down from helming the movie on why these reports about him no longer playing the Dark Knight are once again doing the rounds online. "It’s such a big job, in terms of the stunts and the suit and the action and the character. Trying to do that, and direct, would probably be too much. Something would be compromised. I think it came off, optically, to the broader world, like lack of interest or enthusiasm. When in fact I love this character."
"I think getting Matt Reeves to come in and do it is really, really exciting," he continued before addressing the filmmaker's recent thoughts on directing an entire trilogy of Batman movies for Warner Bros. "Matt hasn’t really unveiled his full vision yet. He wanted to wait until Apes came out, and he was obviously consumed with that. So I’m looking forward to hearing what his story is."
Something Affleck hasn't denied is the possibility that he'll star in The Batman and pass the mantle on to someone else. However, he alluded to that whole addressing the character's future in the DC Extended Universe after Justice League. "Warners has been working on it, making sure we’re getting it right. That’s the partnership you definitely want. With Wonder Woman, they really hit a home run. With [Justice League], I think we’ve found the tone, and found the flavor of it. I’d love to do it as long as they’ll have me. Eventually it’ll be somebody else, and I’m sure they’ll get somebody great. But while I’m doing it, I’m going to do the best job I can, and really appreciate how lucky I am."
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