Ben Affleck is to return as Batman for the upcoming big-screen version of The Flash, director Andy Muschietti has revealed.

The 48-year-old appeared as the iconic caped crusader in the 2016 movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, followed by Suicide Squad and the much-derided Justice League.

Affleck has since stepped back from the role and a reboot of the franchise, The Batman, is now in production with Robert Pattinson taking his place as Bruce Wayne's alter ego.

According to Variety, The Flash will see Ezra Miller's Barry Allen travel to parallel universes and encounter alternative versions of DC heroes, including Affleck's Batman.

"His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity - because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline - but he's also very vulnerable," Muschietti told the publication. "He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.

"He's a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck's Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven't seen before. It's Barry's movie, it's Barry's story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that's one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That's where the Affleck Batman kicks in."

Michael Keaton, who played Batman in the 1980s and '90s, is also said to be on board for the film, which is due out in June 2022.