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Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Ben Affleck first announced he was retiring his portrayal of Batman in 2019, and has been vocal about how difficult he found embodying the character in Batman v Superman, Justice League, and the cancelled version of The Batman that he was due to direct himself. But it seems the actor just can’t quite bring himself to quit the cape entirely.
As well as reprising the role of Bruce Wayne in The Flash, it has now been revealed that Affleck’s Batman and/or Bruce will pop up one last — or second-to-last — time in next year’s Aquaman sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The beans were spilled by Arthur Curry himself, Jason Momoa, on his Instagram feed — apparently to get ahead of a leak after some fans on a studio tour had spotted Affleck on the set.
“REUNITED bruce and arthur,” Momoa commented. “WB studio tours just explored the backlot alright. busted on set […]”
View this post on InstagramAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is set to open on March 17, 2023, is scheduled to be Affleck’s next appearance as Batman. The Flash film, originally slated for summer and then fall 2022, is now set for June 23, 2023 — so Affleck’s repeated comments that it would be his last appearance as Batman may yet prove to be accurate, even though he filmed his scenes for it last year. Warner Bros. is in a quandary when it comes to promoting The Flash, as its star Ezra Miller appears to have gone off the rails and is attracting a string of ugly headlines.
Affleck isn’t the only former lead Batman actor reprising the role in The Flash. Thanks to a multiverse-spanning storyline, Michael Keaton will also appear in the part he originated for modern movie audiences in 1989’s Batman. Keaton will also play Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Batgirl movie, while Robert Pattinson is set to return to the part in a sequel to The Batman. How many Batmans does Warner Bros. need, anyway? Surely it’s only a matter of time now until George Clooney gets the call…
Source: Polygon
