Ben Affleck: 'Oh S***!' Moment Signals End of Batman Role

Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has candidly discussed his challenging journey as the Caped Crusader within the DC universe. In a recent interview with GQ, Affleck reflected on his decade-long tenure, labeling it as a “really excruciating experience.” His struggles with the dynamics at DC have ultimately led to a waning 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 provides deeper insights into the sources of his dissatisfaction. He attributes much of it to a “misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations” while also acknowledging his own shortcomings. “I mean, my failings as an actor, you can watch the various movies and judge. But more of my failings of, 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 said. He admitted that he wasn’t contributing positively to the project, stating, “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 journey with DC began when he joined Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman alongside Henry Cavill. This led to several cameo appearances and a now-canceled standalone Batman project. His tenure included roles in team-up films such as Justice League (both the 2017 version and the 2021 Snyder Cut), The Flash, and a brief appearance in Suicide Squad.

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While specifics about the canceled Batman movie remain unclear, rumors suggest it might have delved into the lore of Arkham Asylum and potentially included Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.

Affleck credits longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but in the GQ interview, he also mentioned his son's influence. “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 charting new paths, separating its darker and lighter narratives. The grittier stories will continue with The Batman 2 slated for 2027, while the more lighthearted tales will kick off with James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman in July. As for Affleck, he has ruled out any future involvement in directing for Gunn’s new DC universe.