Ben Affleck has explained his decision to depart from the DC Extended Universe, saying he could not "crack" the idea for his solo Batman film. The 46-year-old actor first starred as the caped crusader Batman in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and then followed it up with Justice League.

He also made a cameo appearance as Batman in David Ayer's 2016 dud Suicide Squad. He was set to once again play the character in a solo Batman film to be directed by Matt Reeves, the man behind two films of Andy Serkis' successful "Planet of the Apes" trilogy.