Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, recently shared his challenging experience with the DC franchise in an interview with GQ. Reflecting on nearly a decade of portraying the Caped Crusader, Affleck described his tenure within the Snyder-verse as "a really excruciating experience." He attributed his dissatisfaction to a complex 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 explained. "And they don’t all have to do with the simple dynamic of, say, being in a superhero movie or whatever. 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 previously discussed his struggles with the role, but this time he delved deeper into the reasons behind his negative experience. He cited a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations" as a primary cause, while also acknowledging his own contributions to the situation. "I mean, my failings as an actor, you can watch the various movies and judge. But more of my failings of, 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," he admitted. He further elaborated that he wasn't bringing positive energy to the set, merely doing his job and leaving, which he felt was insufficient.
Affleck's journey with DC began when he joined Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman alongside Henry Cavill. This led to numerous cameos and even a canceled standalone Batman project. His involvement extended to team-up films like Justice League (both the 2017 version and the 2021 Snyder Cut) and The Flash, as well as a brief appearance in Suicide Squad.
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Regarding the canceled Batman film, details remain sparse, but rumors suggest it would have explored 80 years of the Dark Knight, possibly delving into Arkham Asylum and featuring Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.
Affleck credited his longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but he also mentioned that his son played a significant role 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.' Then I think that’s when you had a filmmaker that wanted to continue down that road and a studio that wanted to recapture all the younger audience at cross purposes. Then you have two entities, two people really wanting to do something different and that is a really bad recipe."
DC is now navigating a new direction by splitting its grittier and more lighthearted stories into separate paths. The darker tone will continue with The Batman 2 set for release in 2027, while the lighter side will be explored in James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman this July. As for Affleck, he has confirmed that he will not return to DC to direct a film in Gunn’s new universe.
