Ben Affleck Explains His Departure From Batman Role

Ben Affleck officially announced he had hung up the cape and left the role of Batman last month, after about a year of speculation suggesting he would do so.

"Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life," Affleck wrote in a tweet confirming his departure from the role.

In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actor explained for the first time since his confirmation tweet why he's passing the Bruce Wayne torch to a pool of potential replacements.

“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter but just couldn’t come up with a version — I couldn’t crack it and so I thought it’s time for someone else to take a shot at it," Affleck said. "They got some really good people so I’m excited.”

The version Affleck attempted to direct was The Batman, which was planned as the actor's first solo Batman film. However, he stepped down as director and was replaced by Matt Reeves.

Now that we know why Affleck dropped the role, the other major question that needs to be answered is who will Reeves replace him with? Some of the names that have been thrown out there thus far include Armie Hammer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael B. Jordan and Christian Bale, along with the dark horse candidate Nick Jonas.

The Batman is set for a June 25, 2021 theatrical release.