Could Ben Affleck Walk Away From Playing Batman Entirely?

By Simon Gallagher / February 1, 2017

The last thing Warner Bros need right now - after the long-expected (but equally long refuted) departure of Ben Affleck as the director of The Batman - is a devastating one-two that destabilises the project even further. But that might be about to happen if one commentator on the situation is anything to go by.

Mark Hughes at Forbes responded to the news of Affleck's departure to state that there had been rumblings for a while, but that he hadn't trusted the sources and had chosen not to report the story. That's all well and good, but rather worryingly, Hughes also says there's "at least a chance" that Affleck could also walk away from starring in The Batman.

Perhaps because he was bitten on the director news, Hughes has chosen to share that news now, though of course it comes with a caveat:

"I don’t feel those concerns are as likely to bear fruit, and I still expect Affleck will finish the screenplay as planned and then start prepping for the role by getting into “Batman shape” to ensure he’s physically and mentally prepared for the role. That said, I do believe there’s a chance now that Affleck could depart the project as an actor, winding up merely serving as cowriter and producer."

He then goes on to state that even if The Batman goes ahead with Affleck in place, he expects him to walk away from the DCEU entirely after that film. Or at least states that the odds are higher now. How else would Affleck be able to continue his focus on other projects? There are some whispers that his involvement in the DCEU in some way detracted from his ability to deliver on Live By Night, and you can understand that a director who puts so much into his films would be frustrated by how tightly locked in he's been on DC's projects recently.

Let's hope this does not play out, because Affleck has already proved himself a great Batman. But if it does, Warner Bros are going to be facing a pretty major crisis.