Last month, it was confirmed, after months of rumours that Ben Affleck was hanging up his cowl and stepping down from the role of Batman. Now, the actor has confirmed why he made the decision. He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and explained what happened.
Affleck has so far portrayed the character in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League, and he was due to direct and star in a stand-alone Batman movie, but walked away from it in 2017, leading many to believe he wasn’t happy.
He more or less confirmed this during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that he couldn’t manage to “crack” this stand-alone film, so he though he’d give someone else a chance. He told the host:
“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just kinda couldn’t come up with a version … couldn’t crack it. So I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it. They got some really good people, so I’m excited.”
Matt Reeves has since replaced Ben Affleck as the director of The Batman, and it’s currently understood that the film will centre on a younger version of the character than the one we’ve seen in the past.
Affleck is still slated to appear in the upcoming Justice League Part 2, so whether that will be his last hurrah in the franchise or whether he’ll quietly duck out to be replaced with another actor remains to be seen.
