It wouldn’t be The Batman without the rumor mill churning out another rumor about it being Ben Affleck‘s last DCEU film. Rumors of the actor trying to find a graceful exit have been floating around since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to meet expectations. But the actor stuck to his film commitments, and if we are to believe the rumors, he wants out any way possible.

So, one way was The Batman, a Batman standalone that he was supposed to write and direct. While he wasn’t able to crack that script, the film could still be used as an outlet for his exit. Now there are reports that the film could just be rebooted entirely, and without Affleck. More on the story below.

This latest rumor comes to us from Deadline, who buried the Affleck exit in their report on Geoff Johns’ exit.

Here’s the full excerpt:

There is an opportunity for Toby Emmerich to really reshuffle the executive deck on the feature side and turn DC into something more formidable than it is right now, even as a James Wan-directed Aquaman is coming and Wonder Woman 2 is in production, with Matt Reeves rebooting Batman for a new standalone franchise, likely with a new actor to play the Caped Crusader after Ben Affleck’s stints in Batman V Superman and Justice League.

The report seems to indicate that Reeves’ Batman will be a reboot for the character and that there will be a new actor to play the Caped Crusader. Which would have an effect on the DCEU canon.

But it is not as though we did not see this coming. For one thing, Affleck has been unhappy about his experience on these films. Although, many do consider his Batman to be one of the best things about the DCEU. That angry disillusioned Batman was definitely different from previous incarnations. And it was a refreshing take on the character that was similar to that of the Dark Knight Returns comic run.

Still, The Batman remains in a gestating phase. The only real major development for it was that Reeves would be replacing Affleck as director. Since then, it has been one rumor after another. Most of which talk about how Affleck just wants out. And yet, Affleck maintains that he wants to remain a part of it. At least that is what he is saying publicly.

Let’s face it. The DCEU is in desperate need of a change. And I am not talking about at the box office but on set as well. WB has been making some moves in order to right the ship, but maybe what they really need is a new face of the franchise. Gal Gadot is just that person. So now it’s time to focus on rebranding their Batman, who has been a signature superhero for the studio since the ’80s.

While Aquaman is the only DCEU film to hit theaters this year, we can look forward to the Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey film, a Joker standalone, Wonder Woman 1984, and more.

We will just have to wait a little longer for The Batman to hit theaters and see if Affleck will be coming back or if someone else will be wearing the cape and cowl.

[Source: Deadline]