What Ben Affleck’s Solo Batman Movie Was About (Snyder Cut Setup)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League laid the groundwork for what would have been Ben Affleck’s Batman film. To say that Warner Bros.’s DC plans have changed drastically in the last couple of years would be an understatement. When the studio, along with Joss Whedon, tried to phase out Snyder’s DCEU vision out of Justice League, they hit rock bottom as it became evident that they had no direction. As the DC Films division began exploring new chapters, some of their original plans fell apart at the same time. One of them was Affleck’s Batman movie that he would have directed, written, and starred in.

The Batman was originally going to be focused on Affleck’s DCEU incarnation of the Dark Knight before becoming a reboot starring Robert Pattinson. But as Affleck struggled with his health, the actor eventually stepped away from the project as director Matt Reeves reimagined it into a new take on the DC icon. While Affleck is thankfully doing better today, his time as Batman is now in a different capacity following Zack Snyder’s Justice League. While Affleck is set to reprise the role in The Flash, the Snyder Cut did do some setups for what would have continued in the original version of The Batman.

While Affleck’s Batman has a big arc in Zack Snyder’s Justice League with helping create the team, the film also explores his mythology. Despite Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke appearing in the theatrical cut, his cameo with Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor was altered drastically. In that version of their scene, they talk about putting together an Injustice League/Legion of Doom to go up against the newly formed Justice League. In the Snyder Cut, however, Lex reveals to Slade Wilson that Bruce Wayne is Batman which amuses the mercenary. Had Snyder’s film come out in 2017 with Affleck still starring in The Batman, that scene with Deathstroke would have set up their big arc.

That would have been a big opening for The Batman to have a primary antagonist already know Bruce’s double-life as a crime-fighting vigilante. Manganiello had described Deathstroke’s role in The Batman would have been in the veins of a horror-movie-villain, with Slade going after Bruce on both a psychological and physical level. While the Snyder Cut did help a lot to bridge into Affleck’s original film, it also progressed Batman further which would have also been a focus in The Batman. By the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Bruce has changed as being a hero that works together with others again after he and Wonder Woman formed the team.

While Batman will always be the darker hero in the Justice League, the events of the Snyder Cut certainly brought a little light into the Caped Crusader’s mindset. That would have likely carried over to The Batman in some capacity. Even though Pattinson will be carrying that reboot, hopefully, Affleck’s Batman gets a project of his own whether it’s as a film or even an HBO Max series. With the great potential of Deathstroke and Bruce’s evolution, Zack Snyder’s Justice League did some great setups for what would have been Affleck’s solo Batman film.

About The Author

Andy Behbakht
(1044 Articles Published)

Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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