For the last few months it's looked as if Ben Affleck is quietly trying to creep his way out of The Batman. It started when he backed out of directing the solo movie in favor of Matt Reeves, then saw the script he co-wrote tossed aside in favor of a new one. That was followed up by a report saying he was done with the role after Justice League, and that some kind of change would be made, probably within the story.
Then came Comic-Con, and Ben Affleck's "Oh gee guys I'm super lucky to be playing Batman" act that 99% of the sites fell for, but I didn't buy for one second. It didn't read as genuine, and I remained convinced that Affleck was looking for a graceful way to bow out, and doing it in front of thousands of Batman fans in Hall H was NOT how it was going to go down. Want to know who else doesn't think Affleck will star in The Batman? His brother, Casey.
Speaking on the Dork Podcast on WEEI Sports Radio, Casey suggested that ben won't be suiting up for The Batman, although he kinda/sorta tried to pull back after he said it...
“He’s not going to do that movie, I don’t think. Or so I would say.”
Then Casey tries to put the horse back in the barn after he realizes what he's done, adding “Is that breaking news? I was just kind of making that up."
I've said before that in all of Ben Affleck's rah-rah charade at Comic-Con he NEVER said he was sticking around. He just said he was lucky to be playing Batman and that he would for as long as Warner Bros. wants him. That's not affirmation of anything, really.
So is Casey just screwing with us? He says he made it up but if you go and listen to the clip he sounds serious. That said, Casey has made an entire movie where his goal was to prank us, so he's not above pulling our chains. I think he's being honest, though, mostly because of his response when the people around him start reacting to his comment.
Add to it the recent news that Justice League is now simply one movie, with Steppenwolf as the chief villain, rather than a two-parter with Darkseid as the main antagonist, and it seems like Warner Bros. is preparing for a huge change. We'll find out for sure when Justice League opens on November 17th.
