Ben Affleck says he will be The Batman despite report he would relinquish role
Ben Affleck has dismissed rumors that he will hang up his cape before the next Batman film, for which he recently ceded directing responsibilities.
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Speaking to a crowd of about 6,500 fans at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, Affleck unequivocally assured the crowd that he will still star in The Batman.
On Friday, the Hollywood Reporter said Warner Bros was working on plans to “usher out Affleck’s Batman gracefully” and suggested that it might happen before The Batman is made. The report threatened to overshadow Warner’s flashy Hall H presentation on Saturday, which was focused on hyping the studio’s big superhero mashup film Justice League, which will be released in November.
“Let me be very clear,” Affleck said. “I am the luckiest guy in the world. Batman is the coolest part in any universe, DC or Marvel.” He wanted to knock down the idea that he wasn’t committed to the character, he said, even though he will not be directing.
Affleck said he would “be an ape on the ground for Matt Reeves”, who recently directed War for the Planet of the Apes and who will take the helm for The Batman.
Affleck and fellow Justice League stars Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher discussed the upcoming film, which had its fair share of upheaval when director Zack Snyder dropped out for personal reasons and Joss Whedon took over the reshoots and completion.
Neither Snyder nor Whedon were at Comic-Con, although Snyder tweeted on Friday that he was sending his best to the Justice League team.
The Justice League Comic-Con trailer.
Screened footage focused heavily on Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who emerged as the clear favorite of the fans in the audience, who screamed at every shot of the Amazonian warrior. Wonder Woman recently became the highest grossing of the four DC Extended Universe films.
Another person missing from the panel was Superman star Henry Cavill. When a young fan asked the actors if he would show up in the film, Gadot reassured him.
“We can’t say much but if you love Superman you’re going to be very, very happy,” she said.
Warner Bros also teased a bit of Aquaman, out December 2018 and starring Momoa in the title role. A snippet of footage from the James Wan-directed film showed fishermen being surprised when something under the water catches on to a hook and starts dragging a boat along. They look underwater to see a fleet of giant ships coasting under the surface.
Momoa also teased that Ocean Master would be the film’s main villain, though he laughed that he would likely get in trouble for saying so.
Marvel Studios was primed to take center stage in Hall H on Saturday evening.