In 2019, Ben Affleck confirmed that he won’t be reprising his role of Batman from 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and 2017’s Justice League. Last year, he revealed the reason why he ultimately left the role, citing the troubling production on Joss Whedon’s Justice League.

Now, sources via Vanity Fair have revealed that Ben Affleck will be returning as Batman in the upcoming The Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the Scarlet Speedster.

The Flash movie, which is slated for release sometime in summer 2022, will reportedly feature the Flashpoint storyline and introduce the concept of the DC Multiverse, where multiple versions of the same hero will be able to appear in one movie.

In an interview, The Flash director Andy Muschietti said (on Ben Affleck’s Batman):

“His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity—because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline —but he’s also very vulnerable.

He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.”

According to the sources, Affleck just received the script at the end of last week and only agreed this week to join the project.

Muschietti added:

“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before.

It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie.

That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in. I’m glad to be collaborating with someone who has been on both sides of the camera, too. He understands.”

Affleck won’t be the only Batman making a comeback in The Flash, as Michael Keaton’s Batman from the 1989 Tim Burton movie is also set to appear in what Muschietti described as a “substantial” part.

Muschietti continued:

“This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid.

It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.”

Perhaps more will be revealed during the DC FanDome event and panels this weekend. You can check out the full schedule for DC FanDome here (according to Malaysian time).