Ben Affleck didn’t have the greatest time making Joss Whedon’s “Justice League,” calling the making of the troubled superhero film “a bad experience.”
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Affleck said, “It was really ‘Justice League’ that was the nadir for me. That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy [Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in 2017] and the reshooting.
“It just was the worst experience,” Affleck said. “It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, “I’m not doing this anymore.” It’s not even about, like, “Justice League” was so bad. Because it could have been anything.”
Fret not fanboys because Affleck will return as Batman for a final time in Ezra Miller’s “The Flash,” and according to Affleck, his favorite scenes playing the caped crusader are in the upcoming film.
Affleck told The Herald Sun (via IGN) “I have never said this — this is hot off the presses — but maybe my favorite scenes in terms of Batman and the interpretation of Batman that I have done were in the Flash movie.”
Affleck added, “I hope they maintain the integrity of what we did because I thought it was great and really interesting — different, but not in a way that is incongruent with the character.”
Ben Affleck’s Batman is not the only Batman to return in “The Flash,” as Michael Keaton is set to return to the role of Batman from the 1989 Tim Burton film, as TheWrap first exclusively reported.
The plot of “The Flash” will introduce general audiences to the idea of the multiverse, one of the of core concepts underpinning DC Comics. For the non fanboy set, the multiverse refers to a shifting number of alternate universes that coexist within the larger reality depicted in DC comics. Originally created to explain various contradictory changes the company’s characters experienced over decades, it allows several different versions of the same characters to simultaneously exist and, occasionally, interact.
According to an insider with knowledge of the project, conversations with Affleck started in the spring of 2020 to pique his interest in joining the “The Flash.” Before committing, Affleck had notes on the script which were addressed in the draft given to him, and he finally agreed to join the project to play Bruce Wayne one more time.
Also of note, there will be no other films with Affleck’s Batman or an HBO Max as has been rumored online among fanboy outlets. Matt Reeves upcoming “The Batman” will not be affected and Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is still viewed as the future of the franchise.
Last year, director Andrés Muschietti elaborated to Vanity Fair in an interview on what Affleck’s return means to “The Flash.”
“His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity – because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline – but he’s also very vulnerable,” Muschietti said. “He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.”
“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before,” Muschietti added. “It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”