Warner Bros. Receives Backlash For “Replacing” Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill In New Banner

As DC and Warner Bros. look to move into the future, upset DC fans will not let that happen the latest social media discourse involves Snyderverse fans slamming Warner Bros. for “trying to replace” Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman with their respective predecessors, Michael Keaton and Christopher Reeve ( the two best portrayals of each character might I add), are part of the exterior of the new welcome center to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood building in Burbank, California.

The tour, which highlights “100 years of storytelling” with the most iconic Warner Bros. characters and franchises, has been updated to include  Keaton’s Batman and Reeve’s Superman alongside modern DC superstars from the DC Extended Universe: Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

The photo first hit social media after  Awards Ace editor-in-chief Erick Weber show the Studio Tour Hollywood building adorned with banners featuring favorite series Friends and The Big Bang Theory, the classic Looney Tunes, and characters from Warners’ Wizarding World franchise, including Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter and Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander of Fantastic Beasts fame.

The placement of the Keaton Batman and the Reeves Superman, and the absence of Affleck’s Dark Knight and Cavill’s Man of Steel, is seen by some as a slight towards the two actors and led to quite the set of tweets.

Here are some tweets from DC fans,

“You’ve got the current members of the DCEU movies up there EXCEPT Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman…why??”

“They’re literally trying to erase the movies and characters we love right in [front] of our eyes.”

“The lack of respect towards Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck is astounding,”

“They clearly don’t want to acknowledge that MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN V SUPERMAN and ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE exists.”

“Kinda obvious at this point that WB is trying to replace Ben Affleck’s Batman with Keaton’s.”

You’ve got the current members of the DCEU movies up there EXCEPT Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman…why?? This is very weird

Another fan countered, tweeting:

“It’s mother flipping Superman and Batman, not Henry Cavill or Chris Reeve or Ben Affleck or Michael Keaton. They just chose to feature their most indelible versions of the characters on film. No shade at all.”

The reality is prior to the DCEU, there were no film versions of Harley, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, and I doubt Vinnie Chase’s Entourage Aquaman would make the cut. Warner’s just decided to go with the best and there is no denying Keaton and Reeves are the greatest to portray those roles.


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David Gonzalez is the founder and chief film critic of Reel Talk Inc. and host of the Reel Chronicles and Chop Talk (80s horror) podcasts. As a Cuban American independent film critic, David writes fair and diverse criticism covering movies of all genres and spotlighting minority voices through Reel Talk. David has covered and reviewed films at Tribeca, TIFF, NYFF, Sundance, SXSW, and several other film festivals. He is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-Approved Critic and a member of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA), New York Film Critics Online, Hollywood Film Critics Association, and the North American Film Critic Association. As an avid film collector and awards watcher, David's finger is always on the industry's pulse. David informs and educates with knowledgeable and exciting content and has become a trusted resource for readers and listeners alike. Email him at david@reeltalkinc.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @reeltalkinc.