Warner Bros. Reportedly Ready to Move On From Affleck & Cavill
Fans of Warner Bros.’ so-called DC Extended Universe of films may have to get ready to move on. When it first launched, the shared cinematic universe of superheroes was built around Henry Cavill’s Superman, who debuted in 2013’s Man of Steel, and Ben Affleck’s Batman, who clashed with the Last Son of Krypton in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, now that the studio’s first milestone has been reached with 2017’s Justice League, it now appears as if it will be cleaning house in order to start fresh.
Following weeks, if not months of conflicting reports, it now appears as if Warner Bros. is ready to move on from the two actors who helped launch the DCEU.
Yesterday, a report by Variety surfaced confirming that the production of the long-gestating Flash movie starring Ezra Miller had been delayed to late 2019. But that wasn’t the only important news to be found in the report.
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In fact, this report from Variety went on to confirm that Warner Bros. is effectively done with Affleck and Cavill. “The studio is not moving forward with Batman and Superman movies featuring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, respectively,” the article reads. “It is expected to recast the Dark Knight with a different actor.”
Last month, it was announced that Henry Cavill had reportedly exited the DCEU, but it was also never confirmed by either party. However, it now appears that we simply won’t see the actor don the red cape of Superman again.
While another Superman film was never even announced by Warner Bros., writer/director Matt Reeves has been working on a solo Batman film for a long while. It was recently reported that the actor was still actively interested in playing Batman, but whether Affleck would actually star in Reeves’ film or not was anyone’s guess up until now. With rumors that the Batman film will feature a younger Bruce Wayne and this new report, it looks very likely that another actor will join the DCEU to don the cape and cowl.
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Matt Reeves’ Batman solo film still does not have a production start date, nor does it have an official cast or release date. The film is expected to arrive sometime in 2020 at the earliest. Next up on the DCEU docket is James Wan’s Aquaman, which is slated for release Dec. 21, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!, which hits theaters April 5, 2019 and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984, which drops Nov. 1, 2019.
