Ben Affleck's Batman Reportedly Cut Out of AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM After Reshoots

James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has gone through multiple reshoots and in a recent report from THR, it’s said that there have been a lot of issues with Ben Affleck’s version of Batman and how he’s utilized in the movie. Apparently in this latest round of reshoots and recuts, Batman ended up on the cutting room floor.

The report also says that the latest cut of the film had input from DC Studio heads Peter Safran and James Gunn, and the leadership approved a five-day re-shoot and Wan was able to complete what they needed in only four.

Apparently the reason that cut Afflect out of the film was because Gunn and Safran “do not want to promise a movie universe that will not come to fruition, nor tie it down excessively to past failures.” One source said, “It was pretty chaotic.”

Insiders say that the filmmakers “were in the dumps over the seemingly never-ending postproduction process and water-logged test scores.” But, the fact that Warner Bros. is still willing to pump money into this film says that they must have faith in it.

The first Aquaman movie did make over a billion dollars, so maybe they are hoping that lightning strikes twice for the franchise. However, after seeing how the other DC films have performed at the box office like The Flash and Shazam 2, I’m not sure the Aquaman sequel is going to be the box office hit the studio hopes it will be.

In the film: “When an ancient power is unleashed, Aquaman must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation.”

The film will also see the return of Patrick Wilson as Orm, Amber Heard as Mera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, and Randall Park as Stephen Shin. Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbaek has also joined the cast in an unknown role, while Jani Zhao will play the new character Stingray, Indya Moore will play Karshon, and Vincent Regan will play Atlan.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be released in theaters on December 20th.