No more debate, conjecture, or rumors: Batfleck has an end date, and we finally know what it is.
In a story dropped on Thursday afternoon, Variety outlined the massive shakeup happening at DC Films and Warner Bros.
In case you missed it, here is the summary: Head of DC Films Jon Berg is leaving, Geoff Johns is taking on a more “advisory role,” and Zach Snyder is not set to direct any future films.
But the most exciting news, for literally no other reason than blissful closure, is the confirmation that Ben Affleck will not be reprising his role as Batman past his appearance in the upcoming Flash movie. The quote for the understandable non-believers:
While Ben Affleck is expected to appear as Batman in a standalone Flash movie, it is highly unlikely he will don the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves’ planned standalone Batman movie. The director is said to want to cast the role with fresh talent, according to sources.
Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) is taking things in a new direction. But what would that look like? There’s a couple of options:
6Background: What the heck is Flashpoint?
The Flash goes back in time, screws some stuff up, and ends up resetting the entire DC universe. It’s like a giant narrative reset button, which was used by the DC Comics line in 2011 for that exact purpose.
5Batfleck is Flashpoint-ed, and we get a new Bruce Wayne
This seems like the most likely scenario. Batfleck is involved in the time travel shenanigans of Flashpoint, and in the ensuing new universe, we get a brand new Bruce Wayne. Reeves gets his new actor, and DC gets to let go of all the baggage.
4Batfleck is Flashpoint-ed, and we get a young not-Bruce Wayne
What differentiates this one is the man (and let’s not kid ourselves, it will be a man) under the mask. It’s possible that DC decides to completely change things up and we finally get to see Dick Grayson taking over the cowl for his adopted father.
3Batfleck is Flashpoint-ed, and we get an old not-Bruce Wayne
One of the most the famous aspects of the Flashpoint story is its Batman: a gritty, muderous, red-and-black aesthetic Thomas Wayne. In the screwed up timeline created by Flash, Thomas ends up taking up the cowl instead of Bruce. The result is actually pretty close to what we saw from Batfleck in Batman v. Superman. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that DC decides to go with aesthetic continuity and keep it’s darker knight.
2Batfleck is Flashpoint-ed, and we get an Old Bruce Wayne AND a young not-Bruce Wayne
This is the most outlandish possibility, but hey, here’s to wishful thinking. Basically, DC could decide to go with Batman Beyond, the acclaimed early 2000’s cartoon featuring old crotchety Bruce Wayne and a younger cyber-punk Batman. Doubtful yes, but boy would that be a bold move.
1Batfleck survives Flashpoint, but we get a new actor
Somehow this feels more unlikely than Batman Beyond. Basically they could keep Batfleck’s character through Flashpoint, but recast Affleck. While it would allow for some character continuity, it’s hard to imagine that DC/WB would want to keep the baggage of the old character.
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