DC has the perfect opportunity to recast Ben Affleck
We're not sure Ben Affleck wants to be Batman anymore.
The signs have been there for years now (pretty much ever since Batman v Superman came out) and his latest comments about wanting to "find a graceful and cool way to segue out" of the DCEU are just the latest exhibit.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to retire some of its original stars in Avengers 4, but they haven't had to deal with replacing a major and well-established character (no, Ed Norton's Hulk doesn't count).
Fortunately for Warner Bros, they might already have a film in development that will give them a (relatively) graceful way to swap in a new Batman actor.
Ezra Miller's solo Flash movie will be based around the 'Flashpoint' event, which sees superfast hero Barry Allen messing with the DC timeline and accidentally creating a miserable world where everyone is either absolutely horrible or dead.
(This world features a Batman who is – spoiler alert – Thomas Wayne, who became the hero after his son Bruce was murdered. Fans want Jeffrey Dean Morgan to reprise his Batman v Superman role, but that isn't the replacement we're talking about.)
Eventually he puts everything back the way it was... except he can't not really. Things are pretty similar, but major changes were still made to the 'normal' DC continuity thanks to his actions (this was the start of DC's 'New 52' era, and was executed in a similar way in season three of TV's The Flash).
Miller has hinted that in the Flashpoint film "our precious DC universe will inevitably be torn asunder to an endless, headache-inducing fabric of multiversality".
What better opportunity could there be to introduce a new actor as Batman and blame an altered timeline for him being younger and/or less Affleck-esque?
Up steps Jake Gyllenhaal or whoever you fancy and, even if it's no less conspicuous, at least DC will be able to point to an in-story explanation.
Flashpoint currently doesn't have a director, let alone a release date, but we can imagine Affleck phoning them regularly to try and hurry the process along. Then he can sit back and let the wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff do its work.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
You Might Also Like
