What a difference two years can make! Ben Affleck returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night and made his status as the Caped Crusader perfectly clear. “I’m not Batman,” Affleck said with a smile. He looked happy, or at the very least, relieved to hang up his cape and cowl.
This is the second time Affleck has spoken publicly about his retirement from the role. When Deadline ran an article that the torch would be passed to another actor for Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Affleck tweeted the link and said he would be happy to see (not help deliver) Reeves’ vision.
Some fans have still been clinging to a shred of hope that Affleck will be back as an older Batman at some point, as Reeves is going younger with the role. That is not going to happen, as Affleck confirmed that he will not play the character again.
“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn’t crack it,” Affleck told Jimmy Kimmel. “And so I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it. They got some really good people, so I’m excited.”
Two years ago, Affleck went on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to say he was still directing the next Batman movie as rumors swirled that he was about to step down. Affleck officially hopped out of the director’s chair three weeks later. This time, what Affleck told Kimmel is going to stick.
Ben Affleck is indeed moving on from Batman and feeling pretty good about it.
