DC fans and regular moviegoers alike have been treated to two appearances from Ben Affleck's Batman in the DC Extended Universe so far, and they'll get their third when Justice League is released in the fall. However, when it comes to The Batman, Affleck's involvement hasn't been nailed down. After passing off directing and writing duties for the next Batman movie to War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves, there've been concerns over if he might hang up the cape and cowl. Now if his brother, fellow actor Casey Affleck, is to be believed, he may indeed not be reprising the Dark Knight for a fourth time. After jokingly calling Ben Affleck's Batman "ok" and then praising that performance, Casey Affleck said:
But he's not going to do that movie, I don't think. Sorry to say.
Casey Affleck quickly followed up that statement during his appearance on WEEI by asking if that was breaking news and then claimed he just made that up. However, it's unclear whether he was truly joking when saying that he thought Ben Affleck probably won't star in The Batman or if he was trying to backtrack after realizing he said something he shouldn't have.
It's important to remember that Casey Affleck's comment should not be taken as official confirmation about Ben Affleck's future as Batman. Even if he and Ben Affleck have chatted frequently about the latter's time as the Caped Crusader and some of the inner workings of the DCEU, Casey Affleck is not officially affiliated with this franchise, so he's not involved with the step-by-step process of getting The Batman made. So unless Ben Affleck outright told him that he'd be leaving Batman behind, Casey Affleck might not be up to date on what's going behind the scenes. And again, it's also possible he was simply trolling everyone.
Publicly, at least, Ben Affleck hasn't given any indication that he doesn't plan to star in The Batman. Shortly after a report broke claiming that Warner Bros wanted to move in a different direction with the movie that didn't involve Affleck, the actor responded at the Warner Bros panel during San Diego Comic-Con that he's the "luckiest guy in the world" for getting to play Batman, and that he would play "an ape on the ground" for Matt Reeves. Many took that as confirmation that he'll be sticking around after Justice League, but until Warner Bros releases an official announcement on the matter, there will still be lingering questions about Affleck's participation. One thing that has definitely been tossed out with The Batman, however, is the story, as Reeves is starting from scratch on Bruce Wayne's first standalone tale in this shared universe.
The Batman is one of the many DCEU projects Warner Bros is prioritizing, so keep checking in with CinemaBlend to find out what's happening with the project.
