Ben Affleck is coming out of Batman retirement


Holy un-retirement, Batman!
Ben Affleck will star as Batman one more time in the upcoming The Flash movie after having seemingly walked away from the role for good, Vanity Fair reported on Thursday. The 2022 film starring Ezra Miller as the Flash will reportedly involve parallel dimensions, allowing us to get two Batmen for the price of one, as Michael Keaton is also returning to play his version of Bruce Wayne.
Affleck famously left a planned stand-alone Batman movie, now set to star Robert Pattinson, after all three DC films featuring his version of the character were largely panned by critics. Last year, he revealed that a friend expressed concern that "you'll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went though again" by staying on his Batman movie.
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But producer Barbara Muschietti explained to Vanity Fair that Affleck is in a "very different time in his life" than he was then and was surprisingly "very open to" coming back as Batman when asked. Director Andy Muschietti also told Vanity Fair Affleck's Batman is a "very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie." It seems Batfleck is the hero DC needs right now.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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