Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, recently shared his challenging experiences with the character in an interview with GQ. Reflecting on his decade-long involvement with DC's so-called Snyder-verse, Affleck described his tenure as "excruciating." He elaborated on the complexities of his relationship with DC, which ultimately led to his disinterest in the superhero genre.
"There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience," Affleck stated. He emphasized that his struggles were not solely due to the nature of superhero films but rather a combination of factors. "I am not interested in going down that particular genre again, not because of that bad experience, but just: I’ve lost interest in what was of interest about it to me. But I certainly wouldn’t want to replicate an experience like that."
Affleck has discussed these issues before, but in this latest interview, he attributed his negative experience to a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations." He also acknowledged his own contribution to the situation, admitting, "I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either."
He further reflected on his personal shortcomings, saying, "My failings as an actor, you can watch the various movies and judge. But more of my failings, in terms of why I had a bad experience, part of it is that what I was bringing to work every day was a lot of unhappiness." Affleck admitted that while he didn't cause problems, his lack of positive energy didn't help the situation. "I came in and I did my job and I went home. But you’ve got to do a little bit better than that."
Affleck's journey with DC began when he joined Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman alongside Henry Cavill. This led to numerous cameos and a planned standalone Batman film that was ultimately canceled. He appeared in various team-up projects, including the 2017 Justice League and its 2021 Snyder Cut, as well as The Flash and a brief role in Suicide Squad.
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Details about the canceled Batman movie are sparse, but rumors suggest it would have covered 80 years of the Dark Knight's history, possibly involving Arkham Asylum and Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.
Affleck credited longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but he also revealed that his son played a part in his decision. "But what happened was it started to skew too old for a big part of the audience. Like even my own son at the time was too scared to watch (Batman v. Superman). And so when I saw that I was like, 'Oh shit, we have a problem.'"
He noted the conflicting visions between the filmmaker who wanted to continue with a darker tone and the studio aiming to attract a younger audience. "Then you have two entities, two people really wanting to do something different and that is a really bad recipe."
As DC moves forward, it is separating its darker and lighter narratives into distinct paths. The darker side will continue with The Batman 2 in 2027, while the lighter side will be spearheaded by James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman this July. Meanwhile, Affleck has confirmed he will not return to DC to direct a film in Gunn's new universe.
