Earlier in the week, Batfleck’s brother, Casey Affleck appeared on a Boston radio show, where he expressed his thoughts on his brother’s turn as the Bat. There, he stammered and briefly mentioned that he didn’t think Ben would be doing the part in the solo Batman movie. It seemed less of a statement and more of a deadpan delivery of something he thought was obvious.
With all the rumors swirling around Batfleck, I suppose it seemed that Casey felt like throwing gasoline on a swirling inferno. As expected, the Internet exploded from the small comment and everyone was once again casting doubt on Batfleck’s presence in the upcoming Matt Reeves-helmed solo Batman movie.
Sibling Ribbing?
Buzzfeed decided to reach out to Casey Affleck’s representative where they received the following statement:
“Casey was having fun with the folks at the Red Sox game — where he threw out the first pitch in support of the Jimmy Fund — and not speaking from a place of firsthand knowledge.”
Batfleck’s representatives have not weighed in, but Buzzfeed’s source echoes Batfleck’s remarks from Comic-Con about playing the role for “as long as the studio will have him.”
It seems that Casey was simply ribbing his brother on a radio show in their hometown. I’d imagine the comment likely illicited a strongly worded text or a very loud phone call afterwards. Casey likely laughed it off. It’s obvious backtracking as well, but I’d like to think this was simply a case of a little brother stirring the pot for his big brother.
In any case, we’d just have to believe WB, until a more official source comes out denying Batfleck’s involvement.
What do you think? Is Ben coming back to play Batman or not? Let me know.
Justice League hits theatres on November 17, 2017.