On Jimmy Kimmel Live! late Thursday night, Ben Affleck made his official statement on the Batman situation. Affleck announced his departure from the role for all to see. It doesn’t get much clearer than this, he is longer playing the caped crusader.
Affleck made a few comments on his attempt to make his own Batman solo movie:
“I tried to direct a version of [Batman], [I] worked with a really good screenwriter [Geoff Johns], but kinda just couldn’t come up with a version. Couldn’t crack it. I thought it was time for someone else to take a shot at it. And they’ve got some really good people.”
So, what’s next? ‘The Batman’ (working title) is the next solo movie for the famous character. The film is from ‘Cloverfield’ and ‘Planet of the Apes’ director Matt Reeves. He directed the ‘Dawn’ and ‘War’ installments of the franchise, and co-wrote ‘War.’ For this project, he will be the sole writer and director.
With The Hollywood Reporter, Reeves gave a peek into what to expect for his take on Batman:
“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale, told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.”
This film will feature a younger Batman, as this is a prequel film set 20 years ago in the DCEU. Therefore, even before this announcement, it was not expected that Ben Affleck would be reprising the role in this film. He previously portrayed the character in ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ ‘Suicide Squad,’ and ‘Justice League.’
Last month, Affleck gave a proto-retirement statement on Twitter:
Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life. https://t.co/GNgyJroMIO
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) January 31, 2019
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! retirement announcement is below:
Now, we wait for the next person to take up the mantle of the newest iteration of Batman, which should be in the coming months, as well as other casting news.
Further, Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ will release on June 25, 2021, from Warner Bros. and DC.
Source: Youtube and The Hollywood Reporter