Ben Affleck Explains Leaving Batman Behind, Retires The Cape And Cowl On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

Last month brought the official but unsurprising news that The Batman would not bring Ben Affleck back as The Dark Knight. Instead, the new film from director Matt Reeves will take a more noir approach to the Caped Crusader and will put a younger actor back in the role. So what happened with Batfleck?

Ben Affleck appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, and conversation inevitably turned to the actor retiring from his post as Gotham's crimefighter. It's the first time Affleck has publicly spoken out specifically about leaving the role behind. And after he explained why he's done with the DC Comics superhero, there was a special ceremony retiring Ben Affleck's cape and cowl.

Here's how Ben Affleck leaving Batman was addressed by the actor himself on Jimmy Kimmel Live:

"I tried to direct a version of it, worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn't come up with a version, couldn't crack it. I thought it was time for someone else to take a shot at it. And they've got some really good people."

Not being able to lock down a good script for The Batman is a good reason for Ben Affleck to not direct the movie. But why didn't he want to keep playing Batman? I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason Affleck took the role of Batman to begin with was so he could eventually direct himself in a Batman movie. So if that motivation is gone, then he probably didn't want to keep putting on that hot, uncomfortable superhero suit.

Beyond Ben Affleck's own ambitions and desires, the bigger motivator here is probably Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Entertainment wanting to distance themselves from what Zack Snyder did with Batman and the rest of Justice League. Either way, Ben Affleck is no longer Batman, and it's time for a new actor to put on the cape and cowl (though it probably won't be Robert Pattinson).

But before that, Ben Affleck's own costume needed to be retired. You may not have noticed it before, but the cape has the name Batfleck and the #12 on it. Affleck joked that it's always been there in honor of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (yuck), and Warner Bros. had to spend millions to digitally erase it. In order to retire it properly, it had to replace another famous piece of movie history. We'll just let you see what it was for yourself in the video below.