Ben Affleck appeared to have hung up the cape and cowl after playing Bruce Wayne in just two crossover movies with no solo outings, but an interesting fan-made poster gives us a look at the “Batfleck” DCEU project we could have gotten. After debuting as Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and reprising the role in Justice League, Affleck had plans to direct and write The Batman before handing the keys off to filmmaker Matt Reeves. Soon after, Affleck revealed he was giving up the role of Batman as well, leading to the eventual casting of Robert Pattinson to replace him.
With Reeves and Pattinson stepping in, The Batman has also completely changed its creative course, moving away from the DCEU to establish a new cinematic universe. While there’s certainly a lot of excitement surrounding that upcoming movie, fan interest still remains in seeing more of Ben Affleck in the role from DC fans who enjoyed him during the limited time he’d spent playing the character. This interest was rekindled again earlier this month, after rumors had made their way online suggesting that Affleck had secretly signed a deal to reprise the Batman role after all for a new project on HBO Max,
As nothing has been confirmed and we have no indication that this is really happening, it’s best to take the rumor with a grain of salt at this time. Regardless, that hasn’t stopped Batfleck fans from anticipating the possibility. On Instagram, the digital artist known as ArtOfTimeTravel designed a mock poster for a potential Batman TV series on the streamer, bringing back Affleck as Bruce Wayne along with many other characters from the DCEU movies. That includes Jared Leto’s Joker, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Killer Croc, and many others. You can look at it below.
Who knows if more Batfleck will end up happening or not, but even if he doesn’t get his own movie or TV series, it’s also possible we’ll see more of Affleck’s Batman in the upcoming Justice League Snyder Cut. Reportedly, the new cut will cost millions of dollars to develop with various reshoots required. This opens the door for Affleck to return in the role, even if in a very limited capacity to shoot new material for Snyder’s Justice League. Back in May, Snyder teased bringing back the whole cast, including Affleck, for the reshoots, suggesting he would need everyone to finish the movie the way he had always envisioned.
If Affleck does indeed suit back up as Batman for the Justice League Snyder Cut, the experience could revitalize his interest in playing the iconic superhero, meaning other Batman projects with Affleck on HBO Max wouldn’t be outside of the realm of possibility. In any case, we’ll all get to see Robert Pattinson’s take on the character when Matt Reeves’ The Batman is released in theaters on June 25, 2021, barring any more major production delays. The Batman fan art depicted above was drawn up by ArtOfTimeTravel on Instagram.
