Ben Affleck: The Moment He Knew Batman Was Over

In a candid interview with GQ, Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, opened up about his challenging journey within the DC universe. After a decade of donning the cape, Affleck described his time as a key figure in the Snyder-verse as "a really excruciating experience." He attributed his struggles to a complex relationship with DC, which ultimately led to his waning interest in the superhero genre.

"There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience," Affleck shared. He clarified that his disillusionment wasn't solely due to the nature of superhero films but rather a broader loss of interest in what initially attracted him to the genre. "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 touched on these issues, but he delved deeper into the reasons behind his negative experience, pointing to a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations." He also acknowledged his own role in the situation, admitting that he "wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either."

"I mean, 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," he reflected. He admitted to not contributing positive energy, explaining, "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 signed on to co-star in Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman alongside Henry Cavill. This role led to numerous cameos and a planned standalone Batman film that ultimately never came to fruition. His appearances extended to team-up projects like Justice League (both the 2017 original and the 2021 Snyder Cut) and The Flash, as well as a brief role in Suicide Squad in 2016.

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While details about the canceled Batman movie remain scarce, rumors suggest it might have explored Arkham Asylum and featured Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.

Affleck credits his longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but he also mentioned his son's reaction to Batman v. Superman as a significant factor. "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 separating its grittier and more lighthearted stories. The darker narratives will continue with The Batman 2 slated for 2027, while the lighter side will be spearheaded by James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman in July. As for Affleck, he has made it clear that he will not return to DC to direct a film in Gunn’s new universe.