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Ben Affleck’s recent stint in rehab may have cost him his role as Batman. Ever since Affleck left the director’s chair behind on The Batman, it’s been speculated that hey may be leaving the role behind. Now that Justice League is in the rearview mirror, it’s seemed increasingly likely that will be the case. However, Warner Bros. has not committed one way or the other on the matter, at least not publically. But now, it appears as though their hand may be forced despite whatever creative desire they had to work with Ben Affleck again as the Caped Crusader.
According to a new report, it may now be too expensive to insure Ben Affleck for a major blockbuster movie, such as The Batman. Affleck is a recovering alcoholic who recently checked himself into rehab for what will be his third time, and the second time in just over a year. Almost every studio is required to carry insurance for actors to help protect the production in case anything were to go wrong. Since Affleck has had two bouts of rehab recently, he’s considered much riskier. With that, the cost to insure him has skyrocketed. An attorney who specializes in such matters had this to say.
“He would be bondable, but the deductible would be really high, probably the budget of the film.”
Considering that Justice League had a reported budget of $300 million, before marketing, that’s a whole lot of money. And it’s quite difficult to imagine any star is worth that kind of financial risk. Not to mention that both Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League failed to meet expectations both critically and commercially. It wouldn’t be quite fair to place the blame on Ben Affleck’s shoulders, but it’s something to consider. Especially since Warner Bros. has shifted their strategy with DC Films significantly in the wake of Justice League.
We’ve also been hearing quite a bit that Matt Reeves, who is writing and directing The Batman, will be looking to cast a younger version of the character for his movie. With that in mind, it might seem like a logical time, from a business perspective, to bid Batfleck farewell. For now, it’s likely Affleck will focus on smaller projects, such as Robert Downey Jr. did in the late 90s and early 2000s following his substance abuse and legal issues before ultimately making his big comeback with Iron Man in 2008. The same attorney had this to say.
“A track record of completing projects without incident, that would likely show the underwriter that the risk has gone down and would likely lead to them lowering premiums and the cost of the bond on future projects.”
With that in mind, Ben Affleck can focus on directing and starring in smaller movies for a while. He recently lined up a new gig with Matt Damon which involves a real-life scam surrounding McDonald’s Monopoly game. Affleck also recently wrapped filming on two different Netflix movies, J.C. Chandor’s Triple Frontier and Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted. Neither of those productions had to pay higher insurance fees. Affleck’s career is far from over, but unfortunately, it looks like his days in the DC universe are quite likely numbered. This news comes to us courtesy of The Wrap.
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