Ben Affleck Opens Up About Scrapped ‘The Batman’ Villain Ideas

Ben Affleck’s Batman film had its wings clipped before it could even get off the ground. According to the actor, the film had big plans for its villains, including Deathstroke.

Fans for Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Batman were ecstatic at the idea that he would be getting his own solo film, especially with the actor attached to direct. The end credits scene for Justice League, which introduced the Batman villain Deathstroke played by Joe Manganiello, brought excitement to a fever pitch.

‘Justice League’ Director Zack Snyder Reveals Scrapped SnyderVerse Plans

Following a number of studio complications and regime changes, The Batman was eventually scrapped, with Ben Affleck stepping away from the role of Bruce Wayne as well as the possibility of directing a DC Comics film. Luckily for fans, Affleck spoke on the cancelled film during the SnyderCon Full Circle event. When asked about Deathstroke specifically, he revealed his plans for making nuanced villains for his character to face:

“There were a number of them that I was kind of exploring. And, the plans were to make interesting, nuanced, complex characters, in particular to the character you mentioned.” Affleck said during the panel. “I kind of feel like either you do – I’m just going to get into my own preference here – but either you do a kind of massive one villain that is so formidable you just can’t imagine how your protagonist is going to be able to overcome it. Or you have to really sort of populate kind of, you know, Injustice, these big group villains, where you have to get all these different characters.”

Imagining Ben Affleck taking down an entire Rogues Gallery of Batman villains in a solo outing is enough to make any comic book fan wish they had the power to make their own Flashpoint to save the film. Despite losing what seemed to be shaping up to be an amazing film, fans of the Dark Knight have enjoyed amazing projects over the last few years. The Batman starring Robert Pattinson was such a smash hit that a sequel was greenlit along with a number of spin-offs and the Joker solo film won two Oscars. Robin is also set to return to the big screen with the upcoming Batman: The Brave and the Bold reboot for the DC Universe.

What We Know So Far about the DCU Batman

The recently-announced The Brave and the Bold movie is set to revolve around the Bruce Wayne version of Batman and his son Damian, the fifth Robin. During the DC Studios presentation at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, James Gunn and Peter Safran revealed that the movie is set to introduce the main Batman of the DC Universe.

Robert Pattinson’s Batman is expected to remain outside of the DC Universe, as part of the DC Elseworlds imprint, with Matt Reeves directing and co-writing his second movie for an October 2025 release. As such, Warner Bros. is casting a second version of the Dark Knight for its DC Universe.

“The Brave and the Bold. This is the introduction of the DCU Batman, Bruce Wayne, and also our favorite Robin, Damian Wayne,” James Gunn teased during the 55-minute DC Universe presentation. “[Damian] is a little son of a bitch, an assassin murderer, who [Bruce] unwittingly takes on, who is Batman’s actual son that he doesn’t know exists for the first eight to ten years of his life. It’s a very strange sort of father and son story about the two of them.”

The DC Studios co-head added the following about the Batman and Robin movie, which does not yet have a release date: “It’s based on Grant Morrison’s run on the Batman. There’s a couple of comic book writers that have been exceptionally influential on our stuff and Grant Morrison and Tom King are probably the two primary ones.”