Well, the writing's been on the wall for a hot minute, but today it's finally been confirmed: according to Variety, Ben Affleck will not return as the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves' The Batman. The news follows this morning's reveal that Reeves' Bat-film will be taking a more detective-centric approach to DC's iconic character.

Affleck appeared as Batman in several DC films, and while none of those movies ended up being very good, Affleck always struck us as a great Batman. It's unfortunate he won't get a chance to play the character for Reeves, but we suppose this makes sense: word on the street suggests The Batman is looking for a younger Bruce Wayne, a Batman who hasn't already survived an entire career (and, yes, gone a little gray) fighting crime in Gotham City.

Additionally, Variety confirms The Batman will land in theaters on June 25th, 2021. This gives the production plenty of time to finalize its script and find a new Batman, which means we've probably got a good six months' worth of reckless speculation and rumormongering to look forward to.

Let's go ahead and kick that off in the comments below: who would you like to see play Batman? Sound off, and stay tuned for a truly astounding number of updates on The Batman as further information becomes available. This one's gonna be a hot topic.