Ben Affleck is putting a nail in the coffin of his DC tenure once and for all, including directing an upcoming DC movie under the new regime headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran.
“I (James) Gunn will not direct anything for DC. Not at all. theart, “I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he’s going to do a great job. I just don’t want to go in and direct it the way they’re doing it. I There’s no interest in it.”
The Oscar-winning “Argo” filmmaker was attached to direct his own “Batman” movie a few years after playing the Caped Crusader in front of the camera for Zack Snyder. But he eventually dropped that project altogether as Matt Reeves stepped in and rebooted the property with Robert Pattinson in the lead role.
In December, Gunn said He and Safran discussed working together with Affleck, saying, “We want him to direct; We just have to find the right project. Alas, it appears that Affleck has no interest in revisiting the DC universe in any form or fashion.
Affleck, whose next directorial effort is a character drama “Air” in which he stars alongside Matt Damon, told THR that making “Justice League” made him lean toward directing a Batman movie.
“I was going to direct a Batman, and[‘Justice League’]made me go, ‘I’m out. I don’t want to do any of this again. I’m not suitable.’ It was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business that’s full of some crappy experiences. It broke my heart. Somebody (Joss Whedon) had an idea to come in, like, ‘I’ll save you and we’ll be 60 days old. Will shoot and I’ll write the whole thing about what you have. I’ve got the secret.’ And it wasn’t a secret. It was tough. And I started drinking too much. I was back in the hotel in London, it was either that or I jumped out the window. And I just thought, ‘This is not the life that I want to. My kids aren’t here. I’m so sad.'”
Snyder directed principal photography on “Justice League” before stepping into post-production following his daughter’s death by suicide. Whedon, who was already on the project of writing new scenes for reshoots, was then assigned to direct additional photography. The resulting superhero team-up film was a smash hit with critics and audiences alike when it opened in 2017.
But Affleck praised the four-hour “Snyder Cut” of the film, released four years later on HBO Max.
“You could teach a seminar on all the reasons why not to do it. From production to bad decisions to terrible personal tragedy, and ended up with the most monstrous taste in my mouth,” Affleck said. The gist is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and said, ‘Look, I can provide you with four hours of content.'”
Affleck said that “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is his highest-rated film on IMDb. Still, he has no interest in revisiting the superhero genre. life’s too short.
“You want to go to work and find something interesting instead of just wearing a rubber suit, and most of it is you standing against a computer screen saying, ‘If this nuclear waste gets loose, we’ll…’ That’s fine. I don’t condescend to it or put it down, but I’ve reached a point where I find it’s not creatively satisfying,” he said of his decision to walk away. “Plus, you’re sweaty and tired. And I thought, ‘I don’t want to participate in this any more. And I don’t want to waste any more of my life, of which I have a limited amount.’ “
Affleck has one final farewell as Batman in the upcoming DC film “The Flash,” for which he says he finally figured out how to play the character. That film comes to theaters in June.
