Ben Affleck out of the Bat suit

It now looks certain that Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman  won’t star Ben Affleck. Such rumours have been frequent over the last year, but the latest official word is that the script Reeves handed in over Memorial Day weekend focuses on a younger Dark Knight, which would seemingly exclude Affleck from returning to the part. Whether he continues to wear the cowl in any future Justice League films is yet to be seen, but it would seem unlikely given that DC/Warners are desperate to restart the DC Universe.

The first production to go forward now looks to be the Joker origin film starring Joaquin Phoenix. With Todd Phillips (The Hangover franchise) directing from a script he wrote with 8 Mile scribe Scott Silver, the movie is set to go in front of cameras this fall, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer and the budget is reportedly $55 million, relatively low for a comic book blockbuster .

Affleck himself since he is keeping plenty busy lately. He’s currently filming Triple Frontier for writer-director J.C. Chandor alongside co-stars Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal at Netflix. He’s also on board to direct and star in Christopher Keyser‘s adaptation of Agatha Christie‘s crime/mystery novel Witness for the Prosecution, and will likely return for a sequel to the crime-drama The Accountant. Affleck was also just reported to be reteaming with The Accountant director Gavin O’Connor for the sports drama, The Has-Been