Today's audiences think of Batman when Ben Affleck's name comes up. However, before doing the Caped Crusader's mask, the 50-year-old starred as another superhero in a failed attempt to kickstart a cinematic franchise.

Affleck wore a different kind of mask and was literally more blind than a bat when he played Daredevil. While the film didn't do as well commercially, it's a huge part of pop culture. It's been 21 years since then, and even though Affleck has sworn off Batman, there are rumors he'll reprise it one more time.

These rumors started after an industry insider, @TheComixKid, tweeted that Affleck had been sighted on the set of MCU's so-called tribute to the deceased X-Men FOX universe, Deadpool 3.

We should mention that Affleck's sighting doesn't necessarily mean he will return as Daredevil or that he will feature in the film at all. In fact, the tweep that broke the news declined to make a call on which character he would play because they didn't have that information.

I have no idea who he is playing just that he was on set https://t.co/NuJueaC7iJ

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) June 23, 2023

Keep in mind that Affleck has embodied Batman for years, appearing as recently as the Dark Knight in the DCU's latest commercial failure, The Flash. Given the high visibility of that role, why should Marvel bother bringing him back just to play any other character when they can have their pick of actors in Hollywood?

You might want to make the argument that several actors have done it and starred in both Marvel and DC films, including Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds who portrayed Green Lantern in the DC Universe, but then we would remind you that none of them have the visibility that Batman does.

You simply can't go from playing Batman/Superman in DC or Iron Man/Captain America in Marvel to plying your trade in the rival universe. At least, you shouldn't be able to.

However, bringing Affleck back as Daredevil accomplishes two things: it's a welcome nod to one of the earliest comic book films and it helps set things up for the Man Without Fear ahead of the premiere of the Charlie Cox-led TV series in the same year.

While we're all busy speculating, we can celebrate knowing that Deadpool 3 will, at the very least, be arriving earlier than a lot of us expected as the rest of the upcoming MCU slate has been pushed back to later dates. Instead of its original November 8, 2024 premiere date or September 6, 2024, the upcoming multiversal romp will hit theaters on May 3, 2024.

With less than a year to go between now and Hugh Jackman's return as Wolverine, which could see him portray multiple variants of the same character, all of this rumor-mongering should be put to rest soon.

Aside from Hugh Jackman, Deadpool will reportedly feature the Time Variance Authority, specifically, Mobius, played by Owen Wilson.

One more thing, there are rumors that Jackman isn't the only person to reprise his role from the original X-Men films with Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, and James Marsden also reportedly coming back as Jean Gray, Storm, and Cyclops, respectively.

Other people we expect to see in Deadpool 3 are Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio as well as Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Karan Soni as Dopinder, and, finally, Leslie Uggams as Blind AI.