In a recent interview with THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER‘s “Awards Chatter Podcast,” Ben Affleck talked a bit about his turn as Batman on film. Here’s what he had to say…
I did Batman because I wanted to do it for my kids. I wanted to do something that my son would dig. I mean, my kids didn’t see ARGI.” Zack [Snyder] wanted to do a version of the Frank Miller DARK KNIGHT [RETURNS] graphic novel series, which is a really good version of that. Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why things go the way they do in the movie business, and just because your face is on the poster doesn’t mean that you’re dictating all of those things — and even if you were, that they would go well. I wore the suit to my son’s birthday party, which was worth every moment of suffering on JUSTICE LEAGUE.
I 100% believe that his kids were a big reason why he signed on to play Batman. I’d also say that he did it because he’s a lifelong Batman fan and he truly dug ZS’s vision for the character for what became BvS and the potential of the role going forward. It’s not his fault that this take on Batman didn’t resonate with a majority of the audience.
Affleck did a few days of work for the additional photography for HBO Max’s ZSJL and will do the same on THE FLASH — his final turn as Batman (or just Bruce Wayne?) that will finally give him and his version of Batman the “cool way to segue out of the role” that he wanted.
Let me say this about Mr. Affleck and his run as The Dark Knight…
I was totally on board with his casting as Batman back in 2013 when most folks — including the fanboys who worship at the altar of Batfleck now — were having an online meltdown about it. In fact, I was keen on BA playing Batman as far back as the very late 1990s when there was talk of rebooting the cinematic Batman with an adaptation of Fran Miller’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE.
Skip forward a decade-plus and Affleck was my #1 choice to be Christopher Nolan’s Batman on film directorial successor…and play Batman as well.
Look, it’s no secret that I do not like BATMAN v SUPERMAN. While I don’t care for how Batman/Bruce Wayne was depicted in that movie, I believe BA’s performance was top-notch — one of his very best as an actor.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing him in THE FLASH and I genuinely hope Batfleck gets a heroic last hurrah.
For the full interview, I’ve posted the audio player below or you can click on one of the links provided. And if you haven’t seen Affleck’s THE WAY BACK, do so ASAP as it’s his best work as an actor to date. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
