Ben Affleck Officially Quits Batman Role, Ending The #Batfleck Era

Holy retirement, Batman! Ben Affleck is hanging up the iconic cape and cowl and moving on from the superhero role.


Not only was Affleck slated to return to play the Caped Crusader himself, nevertheless he was also expected to direct DC's The Batman. Right now, he'll be stepping down from the legendary comic book hero entirely. While in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night, Affleck confirmed he was indeed retiring from Batman overall and explained his reasoning in further detail.


"I attempted to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, although just couldn't come up with a version – I couldn't crack it," he mentioned. "And so it was time to let someone take a shot at it. They've got some really good people."


Kimmel surprised Affleck with a hilarious "retirement" ceremony, telling Affleck he could be hanging up the Batsuit in the studio's rafters.


"We're going to officially retire your bat cape in the rafters," mentioned Kimmel. "That is your official cowl and cape," he mentioned, as Kimmel's sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez rolled out a suit dressed as Robin. The back of the cape featured "Batfleck" emblazoned across the best, with a number #12, a reference to Super Bowl champ Tom Brady. While raising the iconic suit to the rafters. Affleck playfully responded "I'm not Batman," a twist on the hero's well known line.


Affleck originally took on the monumental role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, then carried on the role in Suicide Squad and 2017's Justice League, inspiring the affectionate "#Batfleck" hashtag with fans and critics discussing if he was ever truly "right" for the role. Though he had a very short run because the Dark Knight, Affleck is prepared to be able to see someone else take the reins in terms of directing and playing the character.


Director Matt Reeves took over from Affleck to performer name The Batman around two years prior, and has been working on a way to bring Batman back to the big screen in a unique way for summer 2021.


In late January, Deadline announced that Affleck would not be returning for The Batman, though the actor had nevertheless to speak at range on the announcement behind a tweet confirming that the news was indeed true.


"Excited for The Batman in Summer 2021 and to be able to see Matt Reeves' vision come to life," he wrote.


As far as who's taking over right now that the #Batfleck era has ended? We couldn't mention. We'll definitely be keeping our eyes peeled, although. Thanks for everything, Ben! You had a good run.