Ben Affleck Calls Justice League Career Low Point

Before Robert Pattinson put on the bat ears and cape in Matt Reeves‘ The Batman, Ben Affleck played the caped crusader. He was supposed to direct, produce, co-write, and star in his own solo Batman movie before stepping away, which led to Pattinson and Reeves starting the Epic Crime Saga. Affleck only starred in the role in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League. He also had a small part in 2023’s The Flash.

In a new interview, Ben Affleck explains why audiences will likely never see him play Batman again and why filming Justice League was a low point in his acting career.

Making Justice League was extremely difficult, and Ben Affleck called the process so negative during an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. He dealt with personal troubles at the time, including struggles with alcoholism and a divorce. The film’s original director, Zack Snyder, stepped away in May 2017 after his daughter died by suicide. Warner Bros. hired Avengers director Joss Whedon to finish post-production, and Whedon directed two months of reshoots.

Ben Affleck said he saw how not to make a movie when a studio is at odds with a filmmaker. He referred to tension between Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder during production after Batman v Superman received poor reviews from critics and audiences. He noted that tension doomed the project. He felt glad and gratified that Zack Snyder eventually returned to complete his vision with 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

‘This is about as gross as it gets’

Joss Whedon reshot a large portion of Justice League, and cast members Ray Fisher (Cyborg) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) have spoken out about negative experiences working with him on set. Ben Affleck described those reshoots as shitty and called them the low point of his career. He stated that the environment and vibe heard about secondhand regarding Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot, and others felt gross.

He stated that Warner Bros. used Zack Snyder’s personal tragedy as an excuse to remove him from the film, calling it one of the shittiest things he had ever seen. Reports following the release of Justice League indicated that Warner Bros. had fired Snyder before he announced his departure.

Joss Whedon’s career largely stalled after harassment and abuse allegations from Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot, and other actors. Zack Snyder has directed a few movies for Netflix since Justice League, including the Rebel Moon series. Ben Affleck’s movie Animals recently launched on Netflix and became a streaming hit.

Source: Polygon