Rumor: Ben Affleck Could Star in Three Standalone BATMAN Films

It sounds like Ben Affleck may be involved with Warner Bros.' DC Cinematic Universe for a long time. That shouldn't exactly shock anyone, considering Affleck's stature as both an actor and a director is a big reason WB went after him to be their new Dark Knight in the first place. But a new report from Den of Geek says that the filmmaker may be starring in three standalone Bat-films moving forward.

This is still an unconfirmed rumor, but Den of Geek's sources claim that very recently, a screening of an early cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was held for the movie's crew and some high-ranking WB executives, and it went over so well that it received a standing ovation. The WB brass is reportedly so impressed with Affleck's portrayal of Batman that they're in the process of offering him a so-called "'Golden deal,' which could see the actor play the Caped Crusader in a trilogy of stand-alone movies, not the single outing already announced."

"Basically, Warners are now working their movie universe around Ben's Batman," their source reports.

The Warner Bros. bosses apparently consider Affleck to be the "definitive Batman" and are looking at him as the central figure around which the entire DCCU will revolve.

Again, this is all unconfirmed at this point, and considering that this screening apparently took place "within the last 24 hours or so," I'm not sure I put much validity into these claims. (That's a lot of information to glean from one 24 hour period.) At the same time, it all sounds plausible enough to be true. Affleck is an incredibly talented filmmaker who already has deep ties with Warner Bros., and he's not an idiot; he wouldn't have signed on to play Batman in BVS without knowing that this was going to be a huge part of his life for the next decade or so. If WB does actually consider him the "definitive Batman," then I could see them wanting to give Affleck his own trilogy in order to overtake Christian Bale's portrayal of the Caped Crusader.

We'll have to see what the studio does here, but it should be clear that Batman and Superman are the cornerstones of their cinematic universe, and I wouldn't be surprised to still see Affleck and Cavill running around in their respective suits in 2025.