Ben Affleck addresses his Batman departure, officially 'retires' his cape and cowl

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ben Affleck addressed his departure as Bruce Wayne/Batman from the DCEU for the very first time. When asked by Kimmel if the rumors and reports were true that he was officially out, the actor said:

"Yeah ... I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter, but just couldn't come up with a version — couldn't crack it. And so, I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it, they got some really good people, so I'm excited."

After Affleck relayed his tale, Kimmel informed him that there was an official retirement ceremony for his cape and cowl like they do in the sports world. As such, Jimmy's right-hand man, Guillermo, came out in a tight-fitting Robin costume (a replica of the one worn by Burt Ward on the '60s-era Batman show), holding said cape and cowl.

Check it out below:

When the cape was turned around, the word "Batfleck" and the number 12 were revealed to be printed upon its back in golden lettering. When Kimmel asked about it, Affleck replied:

"That's Brady's number, you can't be a hero unless you're wearing number 12 ... I insisted to Warner Bros. that be on it the whole time. They actually paid $80 million to digitally remove it from every movie."

This was most likely a rib at the fact that Henry Cavill (Superman) had to have his Mission: Impossible - Fallout mustache digitally removed for certain shots of Justice League. In addition to the superhero crossover film, Affleck appeared as Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Asked by Kimmel if he had any parting words, he said:

"I don't know. I guess, uh, I'm...not Batman?"

Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) is tackling the next Batman movie as writer/director and recently promised that it would fully embrace Bruce Wayne's legacy as the world's best detective and go full hardboiled noir.

The Batman (that title is subject to change) opens in theaters June 25, 2021.

In the meantime, tell us who you'd like to see take up the mantle of the Caped Crusader. Sound off in the comments below!