Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Ben Affleck Replaces Michael Keaton as Batman

Fans were astonished when they saw none other than Ben Affleck in an Instagram post by Jason Momoa at the end of last week. With the posting he confirmed that Affleck will star as Batman in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" and will thus substitute Michael Keaton. Funnily enough, there were already pictures of Affleck on set a few days earlier after visitors caught sight of the 49-year-old during a guided tour of Warner Studios. That said, Affleck's role is believed to be rather small, with some sources even speaking of just a single scene. The main reason is said to be the ongoing troubles with "The Flash", which has already been wrapped. The film was constantly pushed back and was originally intended to be released ahead of "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom". This would have allowed Michael Keaton to celebrate his return as Batman in "The Flash" after 30 years before making another appearance in the "Aquaman" sequel. The decision to have Affleck replace Keaton was apparently made after the test screenings of "Aquaman 2", where the audience was confused by the fact that Michael Keaton was featured as Batman without much notice and as if it were a matter of course. Thus, the more viable solution was to simply replace Keaton with Affleck in the handful of scenes in "Aquaman 2", although that still raises a lot of questions regarding "The Flash". It seems that the jury is still out on the film starring the scandalous actor Ezra Miller, as there has been no final decision on how to proceed with "The Flash" after the 29-year-old's recent incidents. The anticipated release date for "The Flash" is planned for June 23, 2023, while "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" will hit theaters about three months earlier on March 17, 2023.