Ben Affleck, renowned for his role as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has candidly discussed his challenging experience portraying the Caped Crusader within the DC universe. In a recent interview with GQ, Affleck reflected on his nearly decade-long tenure with the character, labeling it as “a really excruciating experience.” He attributed his dissatisfaction to a complex relationship with DC, which ultimately led to his waning interest in the superhero genre.

“There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience,” Affleck stated. “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 in this interview, he provided more insight into the origins of his negative experience. He attributed it to a “misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations” and acknowledged his own role in the situation. “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 explained. He admitted that his contributions to the project were lackluster, saying, “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 numerous cameos and a canceled standalone Batman project. His involvement extended to various ensemble films such as the original Justice League in 2017, the 2021 Snyder Cut, and The Flash, as well as a brief appearance in Suicide Squad in 2016.

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While details on the abandoned Batman film remain scarce, rumors suggest it would have delved into the history of the Dark Knight over 80 years, possibly involving Arkham Asylum and Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.

Affleck has mentioned that his longtime collaborator Matt Damon played a role in his decision to step away from the Batman role. However, in his recent GQ interview, he revealed that his own son's reaction to Batman v. Superman also influenced his decision. “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 currently navigating a new direction by separating its darker and more lighthearted narratives. The darker path will continue with The Batman 2 in 2027, while the lighter side will be spearheaded by James Gunn’s DCU, starting with Superman this July. As for Affleck, he has made it clear that he will not be returning to direct a film in Gunn’s new universe.