Ben Affleck Clears Up 'Batman' Rumors At 'Justice League' Panel
VIDEO: Justice League - Comic-Con Sneak Peek
SAN DIEGO (CBS SF) — On Friday, reports surfaced that Warner Bros. was planning to "usher Ben Affleck out as Batman" and that it may happen before the standalone film was going to be made. During the Warner Bros. panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday afternoon, Affleck shot down those rumors.
"Let me be very clear. I am the luckiest guy in the world. Affleck said to the 6,500 Comic-Con crowd. "Batman is the coolest part in any universe, DC or Marvel,"
Despite being replaced by Planet of the Apes Matt Reeves as the director of The Batman, Affleck wanted make things perfectly clear he was 100% committed to the 'Dark Knight' character. He praised Reeves' vision and would "be an ape on the ground for Matt Reeves."
Moving on with the Justice League panel, Affleck's co-stars Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (The Flash) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg) spoke about the highly-anticipated superhero team-up.
The cast presented the latest full length trailer for Justice League, with more action-packed footage than before. The first scene highlighted Gadot's Wonder Woman as she breaks through a door, which was followed by the roar of the audiences' approval. The recent standalone Wonder Woman film became the highest grossing of the four DC Extended Universe films.
Both directors Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon were clearly missing from the panel. In May, Snyder backed out from the movie to focus on his family, after the death of his 20-year-old daughter, Autumn. Whedon stepped in to finish the rest of the film. Already experienced in superhero filmmaking, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Whedon was the perfect fit to the DC Universe.
Another who was clearly missing from the panel and was mentioned frequently in the preview was Henry Cavil (Superman/Clark Kent). A young fan asked if Superman will return in Justice League, with Gadot response "We can't say much but if you love Superman you're going to be very, very happy," she said.
The group also teased the standalone Aquaman film, due out December of 2018 with Momoa in starring role. They presented snippet showed a surprised fishermen who finds something underwater that catches onto his hook and begins to drag his boat along. As he takes a glimpse under the water, he sees a fleet of giant ships coasting under the surface. Aquaman is directed by James Wan, best known for the Saw sequels and The Conjuring films.
Justice League is expected to smash into theaters November 17, 2017.
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