The Flash will be the DC swan song for “Batfleck” and “Affleck” as Ben says categorically he will not be part of the DCU. Even David “release the Ayer cut” Ayer gets dissed by SnyderVerse fans for having the temerity to be nice to James Gunn. And speaking of which, is it time that James Gunn takes a Twitter break?

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Ben Affleck says he will ‘absolutely not’ take part in James Gunn’s new DCU

It seems that Ben Affleck hasn’t just hung up his cowl, he also kicked over his director’s chair. One of the more popular rumors/theories about the former Batman portrayer was that he would be following up his last appearance in The Flash by directing one of the new DCU’s upcoming slate of films with even money on him helming Brave and the Bold, which would be the first “in universe” reboot of the famous crimefighter since Affleck donned the cape in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

That has turned out to be not the case – at all.

While Affleck expressed well wishes for CEO James Gunn’s DC universe reboot into the new DCU, Affleck left no doubt about his feelings for being a part of it in his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not. I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he’s going to do a great job. I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.”

And with that door closed, DC detectives can move on to the next big question — if not Affleck, then who WILL direct the first big bat-film of the DCU?

Even ‘Suicide Squad’ director David Ayer can’t catch a break from SnyderFans after he was nice to James Gunn

While it’s never hard to upset the hardcore fans of the DCEU or Snyderverse there is absolutely no forgiveness for the cardinal sin — being in any way reasonable about DC Studios CEO James Gunn. The hardest of the hardcore members of the fandom — sometimes known as SnyderBros— made that crystal-clear when they turned on Suicide Squad director David Ayer for saying that James Gunn was handling the recent hate sent his wife’s way with grace and positivity.

Ayer — whose wish that Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios allow him to release a director’s cut of Suicide Squad — has been championed by the Snyder fandom in the past, found himself subject to attack when he reached out to compliment Gunn’s demeanor on Twitter. The Training Day screenwriter was immediately accused of sucking up to Gunn for a role in future DCU projects and even called a bootlicker in response.

Thankfully, many people on the thread celebrated Ayer’s class and call for “positivity and creation“. Hopefully, his opinion and Gunn’s methods will eventually rise above the continuing toxicity of some disappointed fans.

Will James Gunn’s online antics spell bad news for the DCU franchise in the future?

And speaking of Gunn, maybe a break from Twitter is in order. While it must certainly get tiring swatting away rumors and dealing with the constant toxic nature of a fandom praying for you to fail even if it means they don’t get any exceptional new DC properties for a while, is he just tipping his hand too much?

Gunn’s initial announcement of the new slate of DCU reboot projects was immensely popular and well-received, but some fans are worried that his constant debunking on the internet is making him seem like the proverbial lady that protests too much. One Reddit user pointed out that Gunn had no reason to play so coy about whether he was or was not directing Superman: Legacy if he had just refrained from commenting on it all together until he was ready to issue a statement through traditional studio outlets.

Of course, a fair share of glassy-eyed fans on both sides of the fandom came out to declare they would trust or would never trust anything Gunn said regardless. When analyzed, Gunn has never said anything untrue regardless of any speculation on his part. It seems that the only real risk of his online presence is that it may take him away from the larger task of getting the DC Cinematic Universe into shape once and for all.