The Flash
Ben Affleck is set to suit up ( at least ) one more clock time as Batman inThe Flash . The first solo pic for the DC Extended Universe ’s resident speedster has been in development for yr , but has of late started making forward progress again . Andrés Muschietti ( ItandIt Chapter Two ) will organize , with Ezra Miller reprising his use as Barry Allen from former DCEU moviesSuicide SquadandJustice League .
Michael Keaton , who bet Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’sBatmanandBatman Returns , will also be returning to the role forThe Flash , which willintroduce the conception of the multiverseinto DCEU canyon . Other versions of Batman are also anticipate to appear , and according to MuschiettiThe Flash ’s game will imply " a unified universe where all the cinematic iteration that we ’ve find before are valid . " ( IncludingLEGO Batman ? Sure , why not . )
relate : Why Marvel & DCEU Are Both Creating Multiverses In 2022
The Flashwill be broadly speaking based on the popular DC Comics storyFlashpoint , in which Barry Allen goes back in time to save his female parent ’s life and accidentally set off a chain of event that radically changes the universe . He wakes up in a earthly concern where Bruce Wayne give out as a youngster , Thomas Wayne is Batman , and the Amazons are at state of war with the Atlanteans . WhileThe Flashisn’t an exact adaptation ofFlashpoint , it will still keep themost crucial elements from the DC Comics story . Here ’s why Ben Affleck is returning as Batman forThe Flash- and why the moving picture needs him .
Ben Affleck’s Batman & Ezra Miller’s Flash Are Already Connected
Though 2017’sJustice League- a Frankenstein pic contain of shard of Zack Snyder ’s original visual sensation and substantial rewrite and reshoots by Joss Whedon - left many DC fans disappointed , it did establish a bond paper between Affleck ’s Bruce Wayne and Miller ’s Barry Allen . We may get to see more of this bond in the upcoming release of theJustice LeagueSnyder Cut . Though Barry was already operating as a superhero independently , it ’s Bruce who convinced him to unite the Justice League and take on the extraterrestrial threat of Steppenwolf . When Flash is overwhelmed by his first preference of conflict , it ’s Affleck ’s older , wiser Batman who counsels him to just focus on save one person . Their bond will be important when it comes toThe Flash ’s story , as Muschietti explain toVanity Fair :
" [ Affleck ’s Batman is ] a very strong part of the excited impact of the film . The fundamental interaction and kinship between Barry and Affleck ’s Wayne will bestow an excited level that we have n’t find before . It ’s Barry ’s movie , it ’s Barry ’s story , but their eccentric are more related to than we imagine . They both lose their female parent to hit , and that ’s one of the emotional vessels of the picture . That ’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in . "
TheWaynes were famously killed in a shootingoutside a theater , as has been draw many , many times in movies before . Barry ’s female parent , Nora Allen , was stamp out by the supervillain speedster Reverse - Flash , who detest the Flash so much that he travelled back in time in parliamentary law to ache him in the worst means possible . Since this will be the first ever alive - action solo picture about the Flash , it will introduce interview who are n’t familiar with the comic to Barry ’s own tragical origin story . It makes gumption to link that story to the death of Bruce Wayne ’s parents , give the connection that the two eccentric already have in the DCEU .
Related : What Michael Keaton ’s Batman Return Means For The DCEU
Ben Affleck’s Batman Is The DCEU’s Original Bruce Wayne
BecauseThe Flashis a film about a whole multiverse with different versions of Batman , it would really be more blatant if Affleck ’s Batman was n’t in it . Though many thespian have played Batman before him , " Batfleck " is the original Batman as far as the DCEU ’s Barry Allen is concerned . " He ’s the baseline . He ’s part of that unchanged state before we jump into Barry ’s adventure , " Muschietti say . " There ’s a familiarity there . " With the live - action DC movies now secede off into easygoing reboots likeSuicide Squadand independent report likeJoker , The Flashneeds to have a grounding chemical element to anchor it securely in the same world asBatman V Superman : Dawn of Justice , Man of SteelandJustice League . It would n’t feel as meaningful for Barry to go stray off into other world if his starting point was n’t a place that audiences are already familiar with .
Ben Affleck Wanted To Play Batman Again
Affleck was primitively set to publish , direct , produce and star inThe Batman , but directing duties were afterwards handed over to Matt Reeves ( Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ) and the movie shift to focus on a young iteration of Batman played by Robert Pattinson . Affleck separated from his married woman , Jennifer Garner , in 2015 and the divorce was finalize in 2018 . He also struggled with depression and alcoholic beverage dependency , go into rehab programs in 2017 and again in 2018 . While Affleck was passionate about the role of Batman and peculiarly invest to Snyder ’s interpretation of the fibre , he was n’t in a place where he was ready to shoulder the burden of directing and starring in a blockbuster superhero motion picture . speak to theNew York Times , Affleck recalled :
" I showed somebody ‘ The Batman ’ script . They said , ‘ I consider the handwriting is good . I also think you ’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again . ' "
Not only does Affleck look to be in a more stable berth now , a supporting role inThe Flashallows him to come back to the office of Bruce Wayne without the same pressures that he face in extend the cast ofBatman V SupermanandJustice League . AsThe Flashproducer Barbara Muschietti put it , " Right now he ’s in a place where he can actually enjoy being Batman . " While there has naturally been speculation about Affleck having a possible cameo inThe Batman , The Flashis a better scene for his version of the character . This way he can continue to be a part of the world conceived by Snyder , while Pattinson can build a Batman of his own without being overshadowed by his harbinger .
More : What Ben Affleck ’s Batman Return Means For Robert Pattinson ’s Movie
