Ben Affleck’s Batman Returns in Unseen Dark Knight Photo
A newly revealed image brings Ben Affleck’s Batman back into focus. The shot captures a brooding version of the Dark Knight and draws attention to a past vision for the character that never came to life.
Zack Snyder shares new photo of Ben Affleck’s Batman
Zack Snyder has shared a previously unseen photo of Ben Affleck’s Batman, taken with a Leica MD 28mm lens at f1.7. Snyder posted the image on Instagram with the caption “Wide lens. Dark knight,” showing a brooding version of the Caped Crusader reminiscent of a comic panel. The photo gives fans a rare look at how Affleck envisioned The Batman before Warner Bros. reimagined the project.
Ben Affleck originally teamed up with Geoff Johns to write and direct The Batman, planning a story where Bruce Wayne would battle Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke. Lex Luthor would expose Batman’s identity to Slade Wilson as revenge for his imprisonment in Arkham Asylum. Affleck released a teaser of this concept from the set of Justice League while Zack Snyder was still directing.
Affleck stepped away from the project in 2017 due to personal issues and the troubled Justice League reshoots under Joss Whedon. Matt Reeves then took over and developed a new vision, discarding Affleck’s script and recasting Batman. “In terms of creatively, I really think that I like the idea and the ambition that I had for it, which was of the sort of older, broken, damaged Bruce Wayne,” Affleck previously said (via GQ).
Affleck later returned as Batman in The Flash and made a brief appearance in Suicide Squad, but DC Studios shelved larger plans, including his involvement in a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie.
Despite mixed critical reception to his previous appearances, Affleck’s portrayal has continued to attract interest and support online, as shown by reactions to Snyder’s new photo, which has gained over 87,000 likes and hundreds of fan comments urging the return of “Batfleck.”
Source: Comingsoon.net