A new piece of atmospheric fan art puts Ben Affleck's Batman, soon to return in The Flash, in a stylish black and gold suit inspired by the version used during the DC Rebirth run in the comics. Affleck first appeared as the Caped Crusader in 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, reprising the role in the following year's Justice League. After that, he was attached to The Batman as writer, director and star, but slowly removed himself from the movie, first relinquishing behind-the-camera duties and then quitting the role of Batman entirely.
However, after many rumors linking Affleck with a return to the DC Extended Universe, it was confirmed just a week ago that he had signed on to appear in The Flash movie. Starring Ezra Miller, the Andy Muschietti-directed solo effort will follow the "Flashpoint"story line from the comics, which sees Flash attempting to travel back in time to prevent his mother's death. Unfortunately, in doing so, he alters the timeline and returns to find a different Batman, who will be played by Michael Keaton. Affleck will reportedly appear as Bruce Wayne and will suit up as Batman in the movie, and has been spoken about as the starting point for the film's plot.
Now, digital artist spdrmnkyxxiii has imagined what Affleck's Batman might look like in a suit that more closely reflects the suit worn by the character in the DC Rebirth run. That comics run ret-conned a number of changes to the DC Universe created by Flashpoint, which introduced the New 52, and ironically changed some of the costumes to more closely resemble those seen in the DCEU movies. You can see the artwork below.
The artwork doesn't overhaul Affleck's Batman suit entirely, choosing instead to beef it up with the DC Rebirth colors, introducing gold to some elements of the suit, and making it less monochromatic. The result is a dark and moody suit that wouldn't look entirely out of place in a Zack Snyder DCEU movie, while also representing a subtle shift away from the flatter aspects of that costume.
Just what Affleck's suit will look like in The Flash remains to be seen. He may well keep the same one seen in Justice League, but there could also be a redesign for the solo movie. Muschietti has already revealed a simpler suit for Miller's Flash in concept art for the movie, with Keaton's Batman wearing a version of his classic suit from 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Forever. If a redesign of Affleck's Batman is undertaken for The Flash, they could certainly use this DC Rebirth-style effort as inspiration.
Source: spdrmnkyxxiii/Instagram
