Ben Affleck has stayed out of the limelight ever since he retired from playing Batman. And it looks like he is getting back to something a bit more grounded and dramatic. Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the sports drama The Way Back, which will reunite the actor with The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor.

In the film, Affleck plays a depressed alcoholic whose life has spiraled downward after a great tragedy. But he finds a second chance at life when someone offers him a job coaching basketball at his old high school. Of course, this job proves to be a bit difficult considering his personal problems, but it will also give him a chance to redeem himself and find a way to fight his demons in a more constructive way. Check out the trailer below.

Arkham Asylum has been fixture within the Batman lore. It serves as the one jail exclusive to Batman villains. And though fans haven’t seen much of it in any of the recent DCEU films, it would have served as the main setting for Ben Affleck‘s standalone Batman film: you know, the one DCEU film that he was supposed to direct that never came to be. Well now, Affleck’s Live by Night cinematographer Robert Richardson is talking about how the film was supposed to be. Check out what he had to say here below.

In an interview with HappySadConfused podcast (via The Playlist), Richardson spoke about the defunct film’s setting.

The big news after this month’s release of the first trailer for Kevin Smith‘s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was that A-lister Ben Affleck would return to the writer/director’s View Askewniverse. Smith later posted to his social media accounts how he and Affleck, after years of estrangement, had finally reunited.

The first trailer contains plenty of celebrity cameos, including one from Affleck, but it also showed that fellow A-lister and Affleck’s original bestie and frequent co-star Matt Damon would also be back in the fold! Today, Smith posted to his social media accounts about Damon’s role in the new movie.

There are a bunch of actors who have made multiple appearances in Kevin Smith‘s View Askewniverse over the past 25 years. Ben Affleck is one such actor, first appearing in Mallrats in 1995—one of his earlier film roles. He quickly re-teamed with Smith two years later for Chasing Amy, and has since appeared in four more Smith titles including Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

What fans might not know is that Smith and Affleck had a falling out a while ago, sometime after Affleck’s appearance in Clerks II back in 2006, and the two hadn’t spoken in years. But with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot now on the way, Smith was thankfully able to reunite with Affleck for the project. He shared the story of how this reunion came to be recently, and you can read it below.

Writer and director Matt Reeves‘ standalone Batman film has finally been given a release date. And it will feature a brand new Batman. At least, that’s what it looks like.

According to new reports, The Batman will hit theaters in summer 2021. However, Ben Affleck will not be there to don the cape and cowl, something he has done since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. More on the report below.

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.

Ben Affleck‘s disinterest in directing The Batman has been well-documented since he was courted to direct the standalone film. And while we are left to figure out what his future is in the DCEU, there are reports that he was also courted to direct another DCEU film. And guess what? He turned down that film as well.

A new report says Affleck was tapped to direct Flashpoint, DC’s standalone for The Flash. This following the news that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired to direct the film. More on the story below.

Justice League‘s disappointing turn out at the box office last weekend could give way to a huge financial blow to Warner Bros. Normally, a film that grossed $94 million would be a cause for celebration. But when you factor in the cost of production and promotional material, a low $94 million is not even enough to cover a fraction of the overall film. In fact, Justice League is already lined up to becoming the lowest grossing DCEU film since the universe was launched back in 2013.

These low numbers could have a negative impact on the future of the DCEU has a whole. More on the story below.

Justice League
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: Chris Terrio, Joss Whedon
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons, Ciarán Hinds
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 | 120
Release Date: November 22, 2017

It’s easy to go into watching Justice League with very low expectations considering how the entire DCEU is filled with bad to god-awful films, with the exception of Wonder Woman. That film was a huge step forward in the right direction for the superhero universe, as it used themes of hope and optimism to do some course correction.

But with Justice League looking like it did in the trailers, one would think that the film would be a step back. However, that isn’t the case. While it is flawed, Justice League has a lighter tone, is funnier, and isn’t as bleak as some of its predecessors. That being said, it is a DCEU film. But at least it is a DCEU film that takes another step in the right direction. Check out my full review below.

So the ongoing saga of whether or not Ben Affleck will continue to play Batman after Justice League continues. This has been pretty much a thing since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to live up to expectations. Affleck has gone on record saying he doesn’t want to play as Batman anymore, only to pull a 180 just days – sometimes hours later – and say he is committed to the role for the foreseeable future. The actor has played The Batman three times so far: once in Batman v Superman, another in Suicide Squad, and a third coming up in this week’s Justice League.

But it appears that Affleck has grown tired of the superhero world and is setting his sights on hanging up the cape for good. However, unlike previous attempts to exit the DCEU, the actor is now reportedly looking for a “graceful and cool way to segue out of it.” More on the story below.