Ben Affleck to Return as Batman in “The Flash”

Ben Affleck will return to the role of Batman in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, reported Vanity Fair Thursday.

Affleck’s depiction of the Caped Crusader was first seen in Zack Snyder’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, and had quite the divisive reaction from audiences. Some loved the grittier and unique take on the character, reminiscent of The Dark Knight Returns, while others felt the depiction was not loyal enough to traditional comic book depictions. Either way, Affleck appeared twice more as the character, in Suicide Squad (2016) and Justice League (2017), before leaving the cowl for Robert Pattinson due to behind the scene and personal issues.

Now, Ben will return to the character alongside Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen in The Flash (2022). Vanity Fair reports that Affleck got the script and agreed to return to the role this week. He will join other heroes in the multiverse, such as Michael Keaton‘s Batman—another actor reprising the cowl for The Flash, as confirmed by Deadline. Director of the film Andy Muschietti spoke about how Affleck’s Batman is the “baseline . . . part of [the] unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure.”

Muschietti also spoke about the character importance of Affleck’s Batman in the film.

“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

While nothing has been made official, this is a good sign for the future of Ben Affleck’s Batman. With his unique depiction of Batman coming in both Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) and The Flash (2022), things can only go up from here. It is truly a good time to be a DC fan.