Ben Affleck Reveals the Moment He Knew He Was Done Playing Batman: 'I Was Like, Oh S***, We Have a Problem'

Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has recently shared insights into his challenging experience portraying the iconic character for DC. In a candid interview with GQ, Affleck reflected on his decade-long journey with the franchise, labeling it as "excruciating." He attributed his dissatisfaction to a complex dynamic with DC, which ultimately led him to lose interest in the superhero genre.

"There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience," Affleck explained. "And they don’t all have to do with the simple dynamic of, say, being in a superhero movie or whatever. 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 this topic, but he now delves deeper into the reasons behind his negative experience. He pinpointed a "misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations" as a significant factor, while also acknowledging his own contributions to the situation. "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 admitted. He further noted, "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 tenure with DC began with his role in Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman alongside Henry Cavill. This led to numerous cameos and even a planned standalone project that never came to fruition. His contributions included appearances in Justice League (both the 2017 original and the 2021 Snyder Cut), The Flash, and a brief role in Suicide Squad.

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Regarding the canceled Batman movie, details remain scarce, but rumors suggest it would have spanned 80 years of the Dark Knight's history, possibly delving into Arkham Asylum and featuring Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.

Affleck credited his longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but in the GQ interview, he revealed that his son also played a crucial role in his decision. "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 continues to evolve, it is separating its grittier narratives from more lighthearted ones. The darker tone will persist with The Batman 2, set for release in 2027, while the lighter side will be explored in James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman this July. Affleck, however, has no plans to return to DC to direct in Gunn’s new universe.