Ben Affleck Returns as Bruce Wayne in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

 


It’s official Ben Affleck is returning as Wayne, Bruce Wayne in the upcoming waterlogged epic Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, directed by Justin Lin and starring Jason Momoa as the titular hero. The sequel is set for a release date of March 17, 2023 and this announcement comes from Momoa himself who quite comically broke the news on his Instagram account with a video of him running into a WB Studios Tour group on the backlot followed by him entering a trailer to find none other than Ben Affleck inside, dressed as the dashing and debonair Bruce Wayne. 

 

 Ben Affleck as Batman in 'Aquaman 2'

 


This news is especially surprising considering that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was originally supposed to come out after The Flash but both films were postponed in a game of release date reshuffling a few months back with The Flash pushed back from November 4, 2022 to June 23, 2023 and this sequel pushed back from December 16, 2022 to its now intended March 2023 release. And according to all accounts, The Flash which will see Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen joining forces with the original big screen Bruce Wayne / Batman in Michael Keaton will also see Ben Affleck returning to the role of the caped crusader post-Zack Snyder’s Justice League and was to act as a swan song for the actor in that role. Not to mention the fact that Michael Keaton will be continuing in the role of the character beyond The Flash as he is set to appear in Batgirl which will find J.K. Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon from Ben Affleck’s respective Batman universe. This leads one to wonder just what level of involvement Ben Affleck will have moving forward as this character as his future doesn’t seem so certain anymore. DC may be taking advantage of the multiverse shenanigans going on at both DC and Marvel right now allowing for multiple iterations of these characters on the big screen at the same time and if that’s the case we may be looking at seeing a lot more stories featuring three distinct versions of the Dark Knight in the form of Michael Keaton, Robert Pattison, and Ben Affleck for the foreseeable future. 

 


 

In conclusion, Affleck may very well be playing a minor role in this film or his role could be a little more substantial and integral to the storyline than we know right now. Only time will tell. Regardless it will be good to see Affleck back in the role as his take on the iconic character as Affleck brings a depth and emotional reality to the role that is hard to dismiss. Additionally as is apparent in Momoa’s Instagram photos with Affleck, Affleck’s version of Bruce Wayne is most certainly the “James Bond” version of Batman. And Bond and Batman being amongst my favorite characters of all time no doubt in my mind places this iteration of the character as an exciting force to be reckoned with. To end things off I’ll leave you with a quote from Matt Reeves reflecting on that James Bond-esque vibe that Affleck brings to his version of Bruce Wayne, as Reeves previously discussed what the tone of Affleck’s script for his intended solo film had been saying:

 


"The movie was originally going to be directed by Ben Affleck, and the script they sent me had been written by Ben but rewritten by another very talented writer, and when I read it, I was like, 'Oh, I get it.' It was a standalone Batman film that was centered on Ben's version of the character, but it was more action-driven than what I felt I could do. I didn't connect to the movie in terms of me as a filmmaker. It was very James Bond-ian; it was filled with a lot of set pieces. It could have been a very exciting movie for someone else to do, but it wasn't for me to do."


Ben Affleck Will Return as Bruce Wayne 

 


 

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