Ever since Matt Reeves replaced Ben Affleck as director of The Batman, reports and rumors have persisted about the actor’s impending departure from the DCEU — fueled, in part, by Affleck himself, who recently said that he’s looking for a “cool way to segue out” of the franchise. According to the latest rumor, Reeves has his eye on another actor to potentially take on the role of the Dark Knight, should Affleck bow out after Justice League.
As numerous women have come forward with extensive allegations of sexual abuse and harassment suffered at the hands of Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, many more celebrities have weighed in — some sharing their own Weinstein horror stories and near misses, while others have applauded the bravery of his victims for speaking out; all of them condemning the actions of Weinstein and men like him. Not long after Ben Affleck issued his statement on Weinstein’s deplorable behavior, the actor was hit with allegations of his own.
Just one day before he was scheduled to appear at Comic-Con, a new report revealed that Ben Affleck’s days as Batman are seemingly numbered, with sources close to the situation suggesting that this fall’s Justice League may very well be the actor’s final appearance in the DCEU. But during today’s Warner Bros. panel in Hall H, Affleck swiftly shot down rumors of his departure, imminent or otherwise, as he reassured the crowd that he’s still very committed to playing the Caped Crusader.
Say what you will about Warner Bros., but they’ve always saved some of their best Justice League footage for Comic-Con. Last year we were treated to our first extended look at the DCEU entry; this year the studio has raised the stakes, giving us some actual footage of the Justice League villain in action. Oh, and this trailer also seems to emphasize the heck out of the world of Wonder Woman - including a scene set entirely in Themyscira - indicating that they know exactly who their most popular superhero is going forward. It’s probably not a coincidence that there’s more Gal Gadot in this trailer than anyone else.