Ben Affleck's Batman is returning to the DCEU in The Flash, but there are already some clues that he could be killed off before the end of the movie. After the messy production of Justice League and a number of issues in his personal life, Affleck said he was stepping down from the coveted comic book role. However, he returned for the reshoots of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and he’ll have an even larger role alongside Ezra Miller in The Flash.
What exactly that role will be, however, remains a mystery. It’s known that The Flash will largely be pulling from the acclaimed DC comics Flashpoint storyline, which sees Barry Allen travel through time to save his mother, only to create a terrible nightmare future. Because Affleck’s Bruce Wayne is such a mentor to Barry in Justice League, it’s likely that he’ll serve a similar role in The Flash. However, the Flash trailer released at DC Fandome 2021 focuses more on Michael Keaton’s Batman, suggesting that Barry might be spending more time in his universe than Affleck’s.
With so many different versions of Batman appearing on both big and small screens in recent years, Affleck’s could be a candidate for retirement. Plus, with the star getting older and having already made his willingness to leave the role clear, it’s entirely possible that he has no interest in playing Batman again. Here’s every clue that The Flash will kill off Ben Affleck’s Batman, and how it could happen within the story of the film.
The DCEU Has Too Many Batmans
At the moment, the DCEU has an overabundance of Batmen. While there are technically only two in the official DCEU canon – Keaton’s and Affleck’s – there’s about to be another big-screen Dark Knight in Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, in addition to the different versions of Bruce Wayne present in the Arrowverse and Titans. Batman is one of the most popular fictional characters of all time, so it makes sense why he’s been so prevalent in live-action of late, but too much of a good thing can become bad, especially when it comes to splitting attention at the box office. Out of all the versions of Batman currently active in live-action, Affleck’s is both the longest-standing and the one with the least potential going forward, simply because of the cancellation of the Snyderverse and the change in direction the DCEU seems to be taking. As a result, it makes sense for this version to disappear.
Robert Pattinson Is The Future Of Batman Movies
Despite the overall box office success of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s safe to say that Affleck’s Dark Knight era didn’t go as well as DC may have initially hoped. That’s not the actor’s fault, but the combination of a scattered and messy franchise plan, some objectively bad movies, and a Batman solo film that never came to fruition means that Affleck’s tenure as Bruce Wayne has been littered with unfortunate setbacks. That’s all the more reason for Warner Bros. to put the full force of their marketing machine behind Pattinson’s The Batman – something the studio has been doing for well over a year already.
The clear hope is that The Batman will return its eponymous hero to the pop culture peak he occupied during Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, spawning some theatrical sequels in addition to the Gotham spinoff series currently in development. Matt Reeves’ film looks fresh, stylish, and entirely entertaining, and it’s clear that his franchise will be the future of Batman for the next few years at least. Already, theories are springing up that The Batman could end with a Court of Owls reveal, setting up some big storylines for future films to explore. That doesn’t mean that a version of the Dark Knight couldn’t still feature from time to time in the core DCEU canon, but it does severely restrict the likelihood of someone like Affleck getting another leading role.
The Flash Trailer Hints At Batman’s Death
In the DC Fandome 2021 trailer for The Flash, there are a few scenes that allude to the possible demise of the Dark Knight. In one shot, Wayne Manor is shown completely deserted, as if it had been empty for years. In another, Barry Allen’s is shown reaching for a lifeless, black-clad hand. And in one other, Batman’s iconic cowl is seen lying unceremoniously on the floor. Because The Flash’s story involves time travel and alternate realities, it’s a bit difficult to nail down exactly what’s happening in those brief shots, but they don’t bode well for Affleck’s Batman.
In The Flash, Keaton’s Batman seems to be the main attraction. He’s the one who’s been away from the big screen for 30 years, and the one who’s introducing a whole new reality to the DCEU. It seems highly unlikely, then, that Keaton’s Batman would return only to immediately die. The surprising part about him is simply that he’s back, so he doesn’t need the extra dramatic twist of a surprise death. Affleck’s Batman, on the other hand, is perfectly positioned to be killed off in The Flash. Perhaps he dies as a result of Barry’s meddling with the timeline, prompting the Flash to go back and fix his mistake. Or maybe Batfleck makes a noble sacrifice to save Barry somehow – similar to the sacrifice he was supposed to make in Snyder’s canceled Justice League sequels.
The Flash Is The Perfect Ending For Ben Affleck’s Batman
Affleck’s Batman has already had a full DCEU story arc. He starts off in Batman v. Superman as a disillusioned, lonely man, who ultimately finds new purpose in a assembling and empowering new heroes to protect the Earth. In many ways, The Flash seems like a passing-of-the-torch moment between Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen, and while that doesn’t necessitate the former’s death, it does leave the possibility wide open.
With the movies of the DCEU changing so much in their narrative structure and interconnectedness, Pattinson’s The Batman looking to become the new top dog of Dark Knight films, and the simple fact that Affleck has already played Batman in multiple films, The Flash seems like the natural endpoint for Batfleck. Giving the character a death with meaning and purpose would be appropriate, removing him from the future of the franchise while still paying tribute to what the actor brought to Batman. Obviously, there’s no official confirmation that Affleck’s Batman will die in The Flash, but the trailer has dropped a number of clues, and it could be the best thing overall for both that version of the character and the future of the DCEU as a whole.
