Ben Affleck's future as Batman in the DC Extended Universe is looking murkier and murkier by the day.

Ever since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice flopped with critics and many fans all the way back in the spring of 2016, there's been talk about Ben dropping out as the Dark Knight. Remember the genuinely disheartening moment below?

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The actor has given conflicting statements about his future as Batman over the last few months, with the harsh reviews for Justice League probably doing nothing to motivate him to stick around.

Combine all of this with the fact that The Batman director Matt Reeves has already expressed an interest in distancing his movie from the wider DC Extended Universe (while keeping some limited connective tissue), and it's hard not to wonder if we've already seen Affleck's final performance as the Bat.

According to Collider's John Campea, Reeves has indeed recently started looking into recasting Batman and has his eye on someone who'd take fans "a little bit by surprise" none other than Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal.

There's a sizeable nine-year age difference between the two actors, so there's already speculation that Reeves's movie will be set years before the events of Batman v Superman.

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Bear Grylls//Digital Spy

(Matt Reeves)

He also indicated that Affleck's departure was decided upon back in February, but was being held back for PR purposes in the run-up to Justice League's release this week. Warner Bros has yet to confirm any of this.

That said, the chances of Affleck bowing out sooner rather than later seem fairly strong. Earlier this week, the actor even said in a Justice League promo interview that he's been looking for a way to exit.

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Bear Grylls//Digital Spy

"You don't do it forever," he admitted, "so I want to find a graceful and cool way to segue out of it."

From: Digital Spy