Prior to Matt Reeves deciding to helm the project, The Batman was supposed to be a Ben Affleck vehicle. In addition to his in front of the camera, it was clear that Warner Brothers wanted Affleck to bring some prestige to DC's film division by having the actor also direct a Batman film. At the time of getting cast as Batman, Affleck was still riding high off the success of Argo. Even though Affleck's first outing in the now defunct- and poorly named- DC extended universe was in the walking dumpster fire that was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (helmed by well-known hack Zack Snyder), several DC fans were holding out hope that the actor would at least get one chance to direct his own Dark Knight flick.
According to Indiewire, Affleck had such a horrendous experience with Justice League that he claims he has zero intention of working with DC in a directorial capacity ever again.
Ben Affleck is done directing for DC.
Seven years after it was announced in 2016 that Affleck would be writing, directing, and starring in a "Batman" film, Affleck confirmed he has no interest in helming a superhero feature, especially under new DC Studios CEOs James Gunnand Peter Safran.
"I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not," Affleck said in a The Hollywood Reporter cover story. "I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he's going to do a great job. I just wouldn't want to go in and direct in the way they're doing that. I'm not interested in that."
Prior to Matt Reeves' "The Batman," Affleck's scrapped Caped Crusader script focused on Arkham Asylum and would have shown the the darker side of Batman through his own split psyche.
