Ben Affleck’s Batman cameo in the upcoming Ezra Miller starrer, The Flash, will reportedly end in his character’s death.
Director Andy Muschietti’s comments about Ben Affleck’s Batman return apparently gave the clues.
The director said that Bruce Wayne/Batman will serve as a mentor to Miller’s Barry Allen/The Flash. Fans of the comic book genre, however, believe characters that serve such a purpose are usually the ones killed off in the story.
Further fueling the rumors that Affleck’s Batman will die in the film are the reactions from the crew. According to reports, the people behind the show were surprised that Affleck agreed to reprise the role he gave up on.
Freeing the weight off his shoulders
According to a theory from Comic Book, if Ben Affleck’s Batman is killed off in The Flash then the actor is free from the burden of carrying the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise. This will also be a fitting closure to his short time as the iconic character.
In early 2020, Affleck said that he made the choice to quit The Batman because it spiked his drinking habit. The actor originally signed on to star, write and direct the solo movie for the DCEU but the creative process was apparently too burdensome for him.
“I showed somebody The Batman script,” the actor said in an interview with the New York Times. “They said, ‘I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again.’”
Affleck played Batman for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, with an uncredited role in Suicide Squad. Robert Pattinson took over as the next Batman but Affleck surprised everyone when it was revealed that he will be reprising the role for The Flash.
Publicity stunt from Warner Bros
However, actor Ray Fisher believes that asking Ben Affleck’s Batman cameo is part of a publicity stunt from Warner Bros. Fisher, who plays is Victor Stone/Cyborg in the Justice League and the DCEU, thinks that the studio needed a distraction. It comes after he complained about a toxic work environment.
Unfortunately, the fake Frosty news with Jason wasn’t the only PR tactic used to distract from the seriousness of the JL situation.
Ben returning as Batman was clearly meant to be revealed at DC Fandome.
I’ll give you one guess as to why @wbpictures likely jumped the gun.
A>E pic.twitter.com/IvmOOnN97s
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 15, 2020
The actor alleges that talks generated by Affleck re-suiting as Batman could serve as a smokescreen for a more pressing issue. Fisher has previously opened up over the mistreatment he received from director Joss Whedon.
Warner Bros has called an independent investigation into the actor’s accusation. However, Fisher once again slammed the studio and said the investigations are not exactly free of biases.
Ben Affleck hasn’t spoken about Fisher’s allegations but Aquaman star Jason Momoa expressed his support for the Cyborg actor.
Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)