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DCEU director teases the return of Ben Affleck’s Batman in one surprising movie

Ben Affleck, who is already set to return as Batman in 2022’s The Flash, may strike yet again in another 2022 DC movie.

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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - MARCH 19: The actor Ben Affleck during the Batman v Superman Premiere at Audit...
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A dark night looms over Batgirl.

In a social media post by Batgirl co-director Bilall Fallah, who is teaming up with creative partner Adil El Arbi (both directors of 2020’s Bad Boys for Life), the Belgian director teases a certain World’s Greatest Detective for an appearance in Batgirl.

What Happened? — In an Instagram story shared on his account, Fallah shared a behind-the-scenes image of himself staring down the cowl of Batman, specifically the cowl worn by Ben Affleck in movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

The image alone could simply be Fallah having fun in what looks like Warner Bros. offices, as there are also other superhero helmets seen that belong to Wonder Woman, The Flash, and as spotted by fans on Reddit, the mask of Riddler from The Batman. However, fans can’t help but wonder if the prominence of Affleck’s cowl hints that Affleck will appear in Batgirl.

You can see a screenshot of Fallah’s Instagram story below.

Did Batgirl co-director Bilall Fallah just tease Ben Affleck’s Batman in Batgirl?

Instagram.com/fallahbilall

Na Na Na Na, Batgirl! — A Batgirl movie has been in varying stages of development since 2017 when now-disgraced director Joss Whedon successfully pitched it to Warner Bros. He dropped out in 2018. After the success of Bad Boys for Life, which hit big at the box office, Warner Bros. recruited Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah in May 2021 to helm Batgirl with a script by Christina Hodson, who has been entrenched in the DC Universe with her scripts for Birds of Prey and The Flash.

Leslie Grace, who starred in the celebrated adaptation of the Broadway musical In the Heights, will don the cape and cowl of Batgirl for the screen.

Ben Affleck at the London premiere of Batman v Superman in 2016. Will “Batfleck” return in Batgirl?

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Batgirl publicly entered development when Ben Affleck was publicly questioning his own future in the franchise. Affleck stepped down in 2019 only to return for The Flash in 2022.

The Inverse Analysis — Little is known about the plot of Batgirl and its place in the expanding DC multiverse. While it was previously assumed the film would be set in the DC Extended Universe, the ongoing evolution of the DC franchise means Batgirl can stand on its own. It could be a different iteration of Batman providing Barbara Gordon the blueprints to become Batgirl.

With Fallah’s Instagram post, it’s now more likely that Batgirl will stay in the DCEU and Affleck’s Batman will play some role in the film. Whether Affleck will actually be onscreen is a mystery, but hey, he wouldn’t be Batman if you could see him all the time.

Batgirl will arrive in theaters in 2022.

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