It's been a long and complicated road for the DC Extended Universe's first solo Batman film. Although Bruce Wayne had a starring role in both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, the character was originally set to next appear in a solo film written and directed by Ben Affleck. However, it was then widely reported that Affleck was cutting down his involvement with the film: first, he dropped out of writing to focus and directing, and eventually he dropped out of directing to focus on acting.Now, months later, Matt Reeves is both writing and directing the film, which is said to focus on a younger take on Batman -- meaning that another actor might be tapped to play a younger Affleck. But while we know next to nothing about Reeves' upcoming Batman film, it sounds like Affleck's scrapped script might have been something fans would have loved to see.RELATED: RUMOR: Oscar Isaac Being Courted for a Mystery Role in The BatmanOn Twitter, DCEU storyboard artist (and DC Animated Universe director) Jay Oliva got involved in a conversation about Ben Affleck's Batman script. "The original Affleck script was the best Batman script I’ve ever read," Oliva wrote. "Ben had a kick ass story and I believe that the audience and fans would have loved it."

While it was never confirmed, the rumor at the time was that Ben Affleck's Batman film would have pitted the Dark Knight against Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke. As viewers might recall, the super-villain first appeared in the end-credits scene of Justice League, where Lex Luthor offered him an opportunity to form the Legion of Doom. However, it was confirmed that part of that scene was re-shot by Joss Whedon, and that the "league of our own" line was added then.

It was rumored that, in the original version of the scene, Luthor was supposed to hire Slade Wilson to kill the Dark Knight, a tag that would have segued into Ben Affleck's Batman. According to Oliva, it sounds like this was more or less exactly the case. In a following tweet, he wrote "It had some of the best Batman/ Deathstroke stuff I’d ever done!"

Sadly, fans will never get to enjoy Affleck's work. This script will simply have to join the infamous Zack Snyder cut of Justice League as something that fans will never get to see.

RELATED: Matt Reeves’ Batman Film Isn’t Based On Year One – and That’s a Good Thing

Matt Reeves’ Batman solo film still does not have a production start date, nor does it have an official cast or release date. The film is expected to arrive sometime in 2020 at the earliest. Next up on the DCEU docket is James Wan’s Aquaman, which is slated for release Dec. 21, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!, which hits theaters April 5, 2019 and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984, which drops Nov. 1, 2019.