Ben Affleck is a notable Oscar winner who has also played DC’s most popular hero, Batman in live-action. James Gunn, the new DC Studios co-CEO, had previously hinted that Affleck was in talks to direct a DCU film. However, recently Affleck rubbished all such statements and instead went on to praise the director who brought him to play the dark knight in the DCEU. The actor’s words for Zack Snyder show the respect Affleck harbors for the man.
Ben Affleck Praises Zack Snyder
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck praised Zack Snyder and said that he loved working with the director on Batman v Superman even though his next experience in Justice League was horrible. As per the Argo director:
“The Justice League experience, the fact that those stories became somewhat repetitive to me and less interesting. Yeah, I did finally figure out how to play that character [Batman], and I nailed it in The Flash. 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].”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) grossed $873.6 million on a budget of $250 to $300 million. It received overall unfavorable reviews from critics and audiences alike. The film was the subject of internet memes over the years for its much-derided ‘Martha’ scene. However, after its release, it along with Man of Steel gathered a cult following of people who appreciated it for its tone, cinematography as well as deep themes. Affleck’s fond speaking about Batman v Superman shows that he had a great time working with Snyder. But his words about Justice League paints a different picture regarding his experience with Joss Whedon.
Ben Affleck Explains How Justice League Pushed Him To His Limits
Justice League (2017) has been a taboo topic as well as somehow simultaneously an intensely debated film among DC fans. The film was supposed to bring together DC’s premiere heroes in a team-up movie akin to MCU’s The Avengers. But it sunk under the weight of middling reviews and a speculated budget of $300 million. To make matters worse, several controversies regarding Zack Snyder’s departure from directing the movie to Joss Whedon coming in and making poor changes dogged the film till its release date and beyond. Now, Ben Affleck has clarified how working on the film affected him:
“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…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.” That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart.”
Speaking about Whedon, the actor said that the director thought that he could fix the film in a short time, but couldn’t. As per Affleck:
“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.”
The Batman actor again praised Zack Snyder for turning Justice League around into Zack Snyder’s Justice League and giving him the highest-rated IMDb film in his career. According to Affleck:
“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.’ 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… And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb. It is my highest-rated career movie. I’ve never had one that went from nadir to pinnacle. Retroactively, it’s a hit. All of a sudden I was getting congratulated for the bomb I’m in.”
The interview is insightful and it seems like Ben Affleck is probably done with superhero films altogether. So even though DC fans were expecting him to direct DCU’s The Brave and The Bold, that probably won’t be possible anymore. The actor is currently focusing on his next film that is soon due for release- Air, a biographical drama about Michael Jordan’s historic shoe deal.
Air will release on 5 April 2023 and Zack Snyder’s Justice League is streaming on HBO Max.
Source: THR
