Rumour: Warner Bros wanted Ben Affleck to play Batman in Justice League

Justice League can’t get itself out of the news of late. What with Mark Millar discussing the problems of the team-up , and the script reportedly in trouble , it seems as though everyone'S talking about it.

That includes El Mayimbe of Latino Review , a frequent source of rumours that have a decent track record of proving to be true.

He recently tweeted that when Ben Affleck was approached to direct Justice League , Warner Bros actually wanted him to star in it, as Batman.


Affleck wouldn’t have any trouble with the handsome playboy facet of the character, and he has a suitably lantern-esque jaw for rocking the necessary cowl, but he’d be breaking the unspoken rule about having two different superheroes on one CV, from rival publishing houses at that.

Then again, Ryan Reynolds has already sneered at that rule, playing DC Comics’ Green Lantern after having done Marvel’s Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine . And with J.J. Abrams going from Star Trek to Wars , we could be entering a new Wild West in terms of franchise loyalty.

Affleck’s obviously confident directing himself, and has moved up through ever more ambitious projects since his megaphone-wielding debut on Gone Baby Gone . His take on the superhero genre would be an intriguing prospect, especially if he directed himself (which, as far as we can work out, has never happened on a superhero flick before - alert us in the comments section if you can think of any examples).

For now, we’ll just have to dump this on the pile with the rest of Hollywood’s ‘What if?’ projects.

Justice League is expected to open in 2015.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at 12DOVE, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.

Latest in Action Movies
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
John Wick 4
John Wick 5 is still in the works, but Lionsgate isn't confirming Keanu Reeves' return just yet: "We're all on bated breath waiting to find out"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn on set of Joker 2
Lady Gaga jokingly celebrates Joker 2 reception and Razzie nominations: "Joke's on them. I love winning things"
Jack Quaid in Novocaine
The Boys star Jack Quaid's commitment to the bit is unmatched as his latest marketing stunt for upcoming action movie Novocaine goes viral
Latest in News
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic is being bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft movie's popcorn bucket is an explosive, game-accurate continuation of a cinema trend that shows no signs of slowing down