Fans have known for a while now that Batman would be making an appearance in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Trailers and TV spots have already revealed that the Dark Knight will be making an appearance, and even before that, set photos revealed Gotham's Caped Crusader would face off against the Joker in the film.
So, why isn't Ben Affleck credited in the official cast list sent to various press outlets recently? Affleck, of course, played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and is the new DC Cinematic Universe version of the character. He's set to appear in two Justice League films and a standalone Batman film. All that means it was assumed Affleck would play the character in Suicide Squad, but that might not be the case after all.
There's no mention of Affleck, or Batman for that matter, on the cast list. There's a number of possible reasons for this, as pointed out by Comicbook.com. First is that, despite most fans already knowing Batman will make an appearance, advance press materials for the film don't want to spoil the surprise. Another possibility is that Affleck simply isn't credited in the movie.
While the two above theories could certainly prove to be true, it's a third possible scenario that seems most likely: Affleck might not actually be in Suicide Squad. Instead, an uncredited stuntman may be playing the role of Batman in the film.
It wouldn't be all that surprising. We still don't know the full extent of Batman's scenes in the film, but it seems entirely possible that fans might not ever get a close-up of the Caped Crusader's face. That would allow a stuntman to step into the role relatively easily, as Batman's appearances may mostly consist of a few brief action scenes.
It's entirely possible Batman's appearance in the film has been played up for promotional purposes, but that his actual role in the movie will be incredibly minor. If that's the case, bringing in Affleck for one throwaway scene would have been unnecessarily expensive when a stuntman under a mask can perform the same task for a far smaller paycheck.
So, what's the truth? That's still unclear, but fans won't have to wait for long to check out the face behind the cape and cowl in the movie. Suicide Squad is in theaters Aug. 5, with or without Ben Affleck.
