According to the Hollywood Reporter, things aren't looking good for Ben Affleck to reprise his role as the caped crusader. There have been rumblings that Affleck wanted out almost as soon as he donned the cape and cowl, but now it seems like a sure thing. This has to be a blow, since DC is going through a lot of crap in general, losing superstar writer and creative director, Geoff Johns, and also kicking president Diane Nelson to the curb. I love Johns as a comic book writer, and no one does Green Lantern like he does, but as far as him in a creative position within the cinematic DCU, good riddance. The DCU is just not working, and anyone who thinks DC should stay the course is indulging in rampant DC/Snyder fanboyism. The DCU is garbage 90% of the time and you know it, people.
The Hollywood Reporter claims that Matt Reeves turned in a first draft of his upcoming standalone Batman movie, and it focuses on a younger caped crusader, which means that Affleck is pretty much gone, since the whole take on his Batman run was the grizzled, veteran fighter Batman who is so jaded that he kills everyone with his car's machine guns. No one knows what this will mean (if anything) for the two (TWO!) Joker films in the works, one with Jared Leto (inside the existing DCU) and one with Joaquin Phoenix, which will be directed by Todd Phillips, and executive-produced by Martin Scorsese (sweet!).
This isn't for sure yet, and it's possible that Reeves script could be rejected, but the chances of that are slim to none. Even if his script needs massive rewrites, it's doubtful that the setting and character will change.
And to be honest, that's probably for the best.
