Early in his stint as co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn suggested that former DCEU Batman actor, Ben Affleck, wanted to direct a DC movie of his own. However, a new interview with Affleck in The Hollywood Reporter pours some cold water on that notion. And it sounds like Affleck is ready to put all superhero stories behind him.
“I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not,” said Affleck. “I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he’s going to do a great job. I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.”
Affleck also went into some detail about why his experience on Justice League soured him on the superhero genre.
“Justice League … You could teach a seminar on all the reasons why this is how not to do it. Ranging from production to bad decisions to horrible personal tragedy, and just ending with the most monstrous taste in my mouth,” noted Affleck.
“But I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, ‘I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited,’” recalled Affleck. “That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some s***ty experiences. It broke my heart. There was an idea of someone [Joss Whedon] coming in, like, ‘I’ll rescue you and we’ll do 60 days of shooting and I’ll write a whole thing around what you have. I’ve got the secret.’ And it wasn’t the secret. That was hard. And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, ‘This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.’”
However, Affleck was far more complimentary towards director Zack Snyder and his experience working with him.
“The genius, and the silver lining, is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and was like, ‘Look, I can get you four hours of content,’” continued Affleck. “And it’s principally just all the slow motion that he shot in black-and-white. And one day of shooting with me and him. He was like, ‘Do you want to come shoot in my backyard?’ I was like, ‘I think there are unions, Zack. I think we have to make a deal.’ But I went and did it. And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb.”
Although Affleck shot footage as Bruce Wayne for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, it’s possible that his final appearance in the role will be in The Flash this summer. And according to Affleck, that gave him the chance to fully inhabit his character.
“I did finally figure out how to play Batman], and I nailed it in The Flash,” said Affleck. “For the five minutes I’m there, it’s really great. A lot of it’s just tone. You’ve got to figure out, what’s your version of the person? Who is the guy that fits what you can do? I tried to fit myself into a Batman. And by the way, I like a lot of the stuff we did, especially the first one [Batman v Superman].
Do you hope that Ben Affleck will change his mind about directing a DC movie? Let us know in the comment section below!
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