Ever since it was confirmed that Ben Affleck will be returning to his role as Batman in the DCEU for the upcoming The Flash movie, the DC fandom has been agog, imagining scenarios where Affleck’s character could be a part of future movies in other adaptations of comic storylines. One such speculation led artist artoftimetravel to post a piece of fanart on Instagram depicting Batffleck in a Batman: Hush movie adaptation, with the actor’s current girlfriend Ana de Armas in the role of Catwoman.
Batman: Hush was a critically acclaimed monthly comic series that came out in 2002. It told the story of a mysterious new villain known only as Hush, who was targeting Batman by mobilizing multiple supervillains against the Caped Crusader in a strategic war, based on information that hinted that the villain had knowledge of Batman’s secret identity.
The best-selling series, which saw Batman teaming up with Catwoman to take on his entire rogues gallery, was later adapted into a 2019 direct-to-video film. There has also been some speculation that the main villain of Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman will be revealed to be Hush rather than Riddler.
For now, Affleck’s only involvement in a Batman storyline in the DCEU that has been definitely confirmed is a supporting role in the Flash movie, which is going to be an adaptation of the Flashpoint Paradox storyline from the comics. With regards to Affleck’s role in the film, director Andy Muschietti had this to say.
“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”
Despite fan excitement, the news coming down the grapevine so far states that Flash will be Affleck’s last role in the DCEU, and will serve as a fitting end to his journey in the franchise. On the other hand, Flash will also open the DCEU up to the multiverse, where multiple actors can play the same role, and each of those films exists in a different corner of the same multiverse.
That means there might still be a chance of Ben Affleck coming back for a solo Batman movie, as was being planned at one point until personal issues in the actor’s life and a negative experience making Justice League made him step away from the role of the Dark Knight.
Meanwhile, Ana de Armas has long been bandied in fan castings of iconic DC roles, from Catwoman to Poison Ivy to Lois Lane, although there has not been any confirmed news on any of those fronts yet. For now, Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz are set to play Batman and Catwoman in the upcoming noir-thriller The Batman.