In the last couple of years, fans have been preparing to say goodbye to Ben Affleck's Batman. It was announced in August 2020 that Affleck is going to be a part of director Andy Muschietti's The Flash, and the assumption since then has been that the film would be the next and last film audiences would get to see featuring the version of the character.
It turns out that things may have changed in a big way behind the scenes, as signs are now pointing to Ben Affleck's Batman making some kind of an appearance in James Wan's upcoming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, which is set to be released in early 2023, before The Flash hits theaters.
This subject has come up because of a somewhat cryptic post by Aquaman 2 star Jason Momoa on Instagram. He includes photos of himself hanging out with Ben Affleck in a nondescript location, and then a video featuring a bunch of people on a Warner Bros. studio tour who have apparently discovered some kind of "secret." Check it out below:
Based on the video, it seems that Jason Momoa and Ben Affleck are presently doing some reshoots for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom on the Warner Bros. lot, and while there were attempts to keep the work covert, that didn't work out as planned due to a studio tour driving past the soundstage at the worst (best?) possible moment. In Momoa's own words,
Well, it's not a fucking secret anymore, is it? Sorry, children. That's what happens, Warner Bros., when you walk out of your set and there's our fans... Well, we tried to keep it a secret!
Here's the question, though: had Jason Momoa just let the WB Studio Tour go by and not posted about it on social media, would anybody have actually believed those people that they got to see Aquaman and Batman secretly working together? That's quite possibly the best thing that could ever happen on a studio tour, so what are the chances that friends and family of those people would take their word for it? I suppose now we'll never know.
Should this be the real deal, Ben Affleck joins a Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom cast that is brimming with talent. The DC sequel is set to bring back not only Jason Momoa as the titular hero, but Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, and Nicole Kidman.
While Aquaman 2 was originally slated to be the big DC blockbuster that would close out 2022, that role will instead be played by David F. Sandberg's Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, which will now hit theaters opposite Avatar: The Way Of Water in December (hence why the film skipped San Diego Comic-Con this year). James Wan's new movie shifted its released date back in March and will now be the first DC movie released in 2023 – and is presently scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 17, 2023.
To learn about all of the big titles that are set to come out next year, check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.
