Ben Affleck is set to return as Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The move comes as a surprise, as Affleck had previously vowed in 2019 not to return as the caped crusader following his appearance in The Flash, scheduled for release in June 2023, according to IGN. Nevertheless, Aquaman star Jason Momoa revealed on his Instagram page Thursday that Affleck would play Batman again in the Aquaman sequel. That movie is slated for release in March of next year.
“REUNITED bruce and arthur. love u and miss u Ben WB studio tours just explored the backlot alright. busted on set all great things coming AQUAMAN 2 all my aloha j,” Momoa wrote in the caption of a photo of the two together.
Affleck’s decision to retire as Batman seemed final, as he was open about his miserable experience with the character.
“I had a really nadir experience around Justice League for a lot of different reasons. Not blaming anybody — there’s a lot of things that happened. But really what it was is that I wasn’t happy. I didn’t like being there. I didn’t think it was interesting. And then, some really s****y things — awful things — happened. But that’s when I was like, ‘I’m not going to do that anymore,'” Affleck said to longtime friend Matt Damon in an interview for Entertainment Weekly.
“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter but just kind of couldn’t come up with a version … couldn’t crack it, and so I thought it was, like, you know, time to let someone else take a shot at it. They got some really good people, so I’m excited,” Affleck told Jimmy Kimmel in 2019.
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Affleck first appeared as Batman in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
