Earlier this year, Wonder Woman broke out as a huge critical and commercial success, but just when things were starting to look up for Warner Bros, the studio has entered damage control, with rumours that Ben Affleck is preparing to walk the hell away from the role of Batman.
Affleck brought his husky gravitas to Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad, and there was every indication that he would go onto be a major player in the DC cinematic universe, with roles in two upcoming Justice League films as well as the stand-alone feature The Batman.
Be that as it may, an unnamed source – the best and most reliable kind of source – recently told The Hollywood Reporter that all is not well, and that Warners are currently “working on plans to usher out Affleck’s Batman – gracefully, addressing the change in some shape or form in one of the upcoming DC films.”
Warners’ film studio chief Toby Emmerich addressed the rumour but didn’t exactly deny it, going on record to tell the publication: “Ben is our Batman. We love him as Batman. We want to keep him in the cowl as long as we can.”
In possibly-related news, there has been talk of behind-the-scenes drama surrounding the upcoming stand-alone Batman. Affleck was originally attached to write and direct as well as star in the film, but the studio recently announced that they wouldn’t be using his script, and also called in Matt Reeves of War For The Planet Of The Apes as its new director.
Affleck, who has dropped out of the Netflix production Triple Frontier to “focus on his wellness and his family”, recently went public with his new girlfriend Lindsay Shookus. Frankly, this whole situation has left us shookus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
Photo: Barcroft Media / Getty.
