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Audiences who wonder what Ben Affleck's take on The Batman would have been now have a new treat in the form of concept art for his planned suit. In 2013 Affleck signed on to play Bruce Wayne in the DCEU in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, as well as a new solo Batman film that Affleck was set to direct. Affleck would eventually step down from directing and starring in the project and is set to reprise his role in The Flash for what is likely his final turn in the DCEU.
In the years since the movie fell apart, a few details have come out about Affleck's plan for his Batman movie. The most common piece of knowledge was that Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) would have been the primary villain and according to Manganiello, Deathstroke would have killed one of Batman's major supporting characters. Matt Reeves revealed that Warner Bros. sent him Affleck's script, which the director likened to a James Bond film, before passing on the project in favor of his own take on the material, which eventually made it to screens as The Batman.
It appears Affleck's Batman was also set to get a whole new costume as artist Keith Christensen revealed original concept art for Affleck's Batman film. The suit marks a slight change from the cloth look seen in Zack Snyder's DC films, which themselves were heavily drawn from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Christensen is credited as a concept artist on The Batman, and also worked as one on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Two interesting notes on the suit are the color and texture. Colorwise it is not black like most film depictions of the character, but more grey, similar to the grey seen in the comics. Texture-wise, Christensen says the suit is supposed to be made from ballistic material and has armor around the chest and back that looks very similar to the suit worn by Batman in the video game Arkham Knight. The Arkham Asylum games were also cited as a major influence on Affleck's version of Batman, so it appears to have influenced the suit design.
The Batman franchise has an interesting relationship with costume changes, as four Batman films from 1989 to 1997 featured multiple different costumes between films, often for the sake of selling different toys. Batman Begins provides an explanation for the suit, with The Dark Knight's costume change even being explained within the context of the film. Affleck wears multiple different suits in the DCEU, and it appears with his own film, he wanted to branch out from the look Snyder had set up for the caped crusader. While it is unknown if this concept art was ever in consideration for the final look, it gives a nice indicator of what direction Affleck may have been going for with The Batman and what might have been.
