Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in the film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, recently shared with GQ that his experience playing the iconic character for DC was "excruciating." After nearly a decade in the role, Affleck's tenure within the Snyder-verse has left him disinterested in the superhero genre. He explained, "There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience," emphasizing that his challenges were not solely due to the demands of a superhero movie. He clarified, "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 provided more insight into the source of his dissatisfaction. He attributed much of his negative experience to a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations" within the DC team. He acknowledged his own contribution to the situation, admitting, "I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either." Reflecting on his performance, he added, "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... 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. This led to numerous appearances, including roles in Justice League (both the 2017 version and the 2021 Snyder Cut), The Flash, and a cameo in Suicide Squad. However, a standalone Batman project he was set to star in and direct was ultimately canceled. While details about the shelved film are sparse, rumors suggested it would have delved into the lore of Arkham Asylum and possibly featured Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke.
Affleck credited his longtime friend and collaborator, Matt Damon, with helping him decide to step away from the role. Additionally, he revealed that his own son's reaction to Batman v. Superman played a part in his decision. He recounted, "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 moves forward, the studio is diversifying its approach by separating its darker and more lighthearted narratives. The former will continue with The Batman 2, slated for 2027, while the latter will be spearheaded by James Gunn's DCU, starting with Superman this July. Affleck, however, has confirmed that he will not return to DC to direct a film in Gunn's new universe.
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