Matt Reeves’ The Batman may be moving forward but there’s still little word on the cast especially pertaining to the role of Bruce Wayne. Ben Affleck who played the Caped Crusader in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League was initially supposed write and direct a solo Batman film but passed those duties to the War for the Planet of the Apes director. There has been plenty of speculation in regards to Affleck’s role as Bruce Wayne in the future with some convinced he wouldn’t be returning.
We can all agree that Affleck did pretty well as Batman even if the films were quite underwhelming but there has been word that Reeves would cast a much younger actor so things are still uncertain on that front. However, it seems that there may be a chance of him reprising his role as the character if this latest rumor is true.
Hollywood Life reports that a source close to the actor/director revealed that Affleck is getting back into shape for his health and also for the prospect of playing Batman again. Following Affleck’s admittance into rehab for alleged alcohol abuse, Affleck has been getting into shape and finally got his superhero physique back. The insider reveals:
“He is back in shape not only for his health but he has a new-found love on doing Batman at least one more time again. He feels he isn’t finished with what he wants to do with the character. There has been talk about replacing him, but he is now seeing what he might lose and really wants to play the character again. Especially seeing what Joaquin Phoenix is doing with the Joker character”
I guess after seeing what Phoenix may be bringing to the table, it looks like Affleck may want a piece of the action. Granted, the Joker film may be DCEU separate but let’s not close the doors to the possibility of the two (Joker and DCEU’s Batman) crossing paths. The insider adds:
“He would really like to take the character of Batman and visit a more serious tone and side of the character and working with someone like Joaquin would absolutely spark his creative juices. He wants to figure something out with Warner Brothers to don the cape one more time,”
Take into account that this is just a rumor and we still don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes at Warner Bros when it comes to Affleck. He may just be getting into shape for his own personal health or even for other films so let’s not rejoice or even do the exact opposite till we know more. It would be nice to see Affleck back and would be super cool to see him cross paths with Phoenix’s Joker (If that flick ends up being good) but only time will tell.
Source: Hollywood Life
