Ben Affleck is widely known for his portrayal of Batman in Justice League, but before he ventured into the world of DC, he was first a Marvel hero. Fans would remember the actor from the 2003 Daredevil film that earned a lot of harsh critic reviews, which until this day, still haunts the star.
The early 2000s saw an onslaught of comic book movies that weren’t as developed as the ones we have today. Many of these projects had so much to improve, and Affleck’s ill-fated Daredevil serves as an example. Despite its potential to grow, it became the epitome of disappointment.
Ben Affleck Hates His Version Of Daredevil to an Extreme Level
The 2003 Daredevil movie starred Ben Affleck as the titular character, together with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, who played Elektra Natchios. They were also joined by Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan whose names would immediately ring a bell and guarantee a successful box office result.
As Affleck looks back on his journey with Daredevil, he can only cringe in embarrassment and regret the project he collaborated on with his former wife. The actor once told Playboy magazine (via IndieWire):
“The only movie I actually regret is Daredevil. It just kills me. I love that story, that character, and the fact that it got f—ked up the way it did stays with me. Maybe that’s part of the motivation to do Batman.”
Even fans thought Affleck would make a repeat mistake when he accepted the role of Batman, but the actor defended his decision and explained that he knew what he signed up for:
“I understand I’m at a disadvantage with the internet. If I thought the result would be another Daredevil, I’d be out there picketing myself. Why would I make the movie if I didn’t think it was going to be good and that I could be good in it?”
As the 51-year-old actor mentioned why he was eager to play Batman, which was mainly because he wanted to redeem himself. He said during the TimesTalk series:
“That’s the movie I want to do. I want to be a part of that. Part of it was I wanted for once to get one of these movies and do it right — to do a good version. I hate Daredevil so much.”
Fans can easily tell from these frank statements how much Affleck wanted to erase the stain of the Daredevil film from his outstanding portfolio of highly-acclaimed movies, such as Argo (2012), which won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Ben Affleck Commends Charlie Cox’s Portrayal Of The Man Without Fear
Despite The Accountant star’s aversion to his own adaptation of Daredevil, Ben Affleck enjoyed the Netflix series starring Charlie Cox in the lead. He admitted that he and his team were not able to deliver the best that the character’s narrative could offer, and he applauded the series for doing such a great job:
“The Netflix show does really cool stuff. I feel like that was there for us to do with that character, and we never kind of got it right. I wanted to do one of those movies and sort of get it right.”
In terms of his portrayal of the Caped Crusader, Affleck did not want to compete with Christian Bale’s version. For him, it was a unique take on the character as an older, wiser form of Batman. The same with Cox’s Matt Murdock, Affleck could only admire the English actor’s outstanding portrayal of The Gotham Guardian.
Daredevil (2003) is available on Netflix.
