In a candid interview with GQ, Ben Affleck, renowned for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, shared his challenging experience playing the iconic Caped Crusader for DC. Reflecting on his decade-long journey with the character, 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 him to lose interest in the superhero genre.
Affleck elaborated on the reasons behind his negative experience, stating, "There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience, 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."
He further explained that the issues stemmed from a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations," and acknowledged his own role in 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. Affleck reflected that he wasn't contributing positively to the project, saying, "So I wasn’t bringing a lot of positive energy to the equation. I didn’t cause problems, but 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, leading to a series of cameo appearances and a canceled standalone Batman project. His involvement extended to team-up films such as the original Justice League in 2017, the Snyder Cut in 2021, and The Flash, as well as a brief role in Suicide Squad in 2016.
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Regarding the canceled standalone Batman film, details are scarce, but rumors suggest it might have delved into the lore of Arkham Asylum and possibly featured Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke. Affleck credited longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but in the GQ interview, he also revealed that his own son played a crucial part in his decision to leave.
Affleck shared, "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."
As DC shifts its focus, dividing its narratives into grittier and more lighthearted paths, fans can look forward to The Batman 2 in 2027 for the former, while James Gunn's DCU will launch with Superman this July for the latter. However, Affleck has confirmed he will not return to direct a film in Gunn's new universe.
