Cryptic tweets by an industry insider sparked speculation around two prominent pillars of the DC Extended Universe: Ben Affleck's Batman and Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Reputable leaker ViewerAnon suggested in a now-deleted tweet that previous reports about Affleck stepping down as the Dark Knight after The Flash were wrong, according to a post on the DCEUleaks subreddit. A further submission on the forum flagged another ViewerAnon tweet that seemingly confirmed (via a visual pun) that director Zack Snyder's version of Justice League will soon be recognized as part of the official DCEU canon.
Affleck first portrayed Batman in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He reprised the role in David Ayer's Suicide Squad and in both the theatrical and director's cuts of Justice League. The star will return as Gotham City's resident vigilante in 2023's The Flash, appearing alongside the Michael Keaton incarnation of the Caped Crusader. The Flash has long been considered Affleck's Batman swansong, especially after he publicly discussed his decision to retire from the role, in January 2022. "Not blaming anybody, there's a lot of things that happened. But really what it was is that I wasn't happy," Affleck explained. "I didn't like being there. I didn't think it was interesting. And then some really shitty things, awful things happened. But, that's when I was like, I'm not going to do that anymore."
ViewerAnon's deleted tweet calls Affleck's exit into question, though -- particularly since this version of Batman has yet to be replaced. While Robert Pattinson played the Dark Knight in 2022's The Batman, that film is set in its own standalone universe separate from DCEU continuity. As such, "Batfleck" is still the DCEU's canonical Caped Crusader, something further reinforced by his upcoming appearance in The Flash. This latest rumor suggests that Affleck could conceivably portray Batman again post-Flash, provided his stance has softened since he last spoke about the part.
ViewerAnon's other tweet reopens the bigger debate around the future of the so-called "SnyderVerse" itself. Although Warner Bros. brought Snyder back to realize his vision for Justice League in 2021, this version of the movie technically exists outside of DCEU canon. What's more, Snyder has since signed a two-year first-look deal with Netflix, which effectively rules out the filmmaker from collaborating with Warner Bros. on any subsequent DCEU outings. Because of this, Snyder's fans feared the SnyderVerse was on the verge of erasure.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is currently streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Reddit