Ben Affleck Steps Down As ‘The Batman’ Director To Focus Solely On His Performance

Ben Affleck has decided that he will not direct the next standalone Batman movie called "The Batman". It's not entirely a bad news since the actor will still be portraying The Dark Night in the upcoming movie. Sources report that Affleck and Warner Bros have come to the decision together after discussing how to make the best outcome out of the movie.

The "Good Will Hunting" actor has determined to do his best to performing the superhero role. "Performing this role demands focus, passion and the best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to level the require," said the actor as reported by Variety. Ben Affleck's statement has also confirmed that the decision has nothing to do with the recent backlash of Affleck's directing project, "Live by Night".

 Warner Bros now has a new work to do: finding the best director to be in charge for "The Batman". The production house reportedly has had shortlisted candidates to perform the job; among them is "War of The Planet of The Apes" director, Matt Reeves. It is also said that Warner Bros fully supported Affleck's decision to step down as the director and give the best performance as a leading actor in "The Batman".

According to Rolling Stone, in April 2016, Warner Bros announced that Ben Affleck will star and direct "The Batman", the first standalone movie since "The Dark Knight Rises" that was released in 2012. However, there was an indication that Ben Affleck was not quite sure about directing the movie, and had even addressed his concerns about the script.

Ben Affleck portrayed Batman for the first time in "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice", taking over the role from Christian Bale. The Batman that was played by Affleck also appeared for a brief moment in another 2016 top grossing movie, "Suicide Squad". Affleck is also reported to reprise the role in upcoming Justice League Movies.