His last great success was in 2012 with Argo, which also got him an Oscar for direction. In such a situation, it isn’t difficult to understand why he isn’t sure about working on The Batman unless the film meets all his expectations. He has a lot in stake with The Batman since he will work on the script, direct and act in. A flop will see the blame come on him.
Michael Keaton had cut his ties with the Batman franchise back in 1995 when he realized that Batman Forever wasn’t as he had expected it to be. Keaton had played the role of Batman in Batman and Batman Returns, which were directed by Tim Burton. However, when he found out that Joel Schumacher will take the reins for Batman Forever, he decided to step down since the script wasn’t good enough.
Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were both criticized, and the franchise regained its popularity when Christopher Nolan decided to work on his Dark Knight trilogy.
Michael Keaton’s decision to step down turned out to be a well-thought out one, even though he was criticized for it during that time. If Ben Affleck does the same, maybe it is because he knows that the film lacks what it takes to become a success in the box-office and Warner Bros. and DC Comic needs to look into the matter.
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