It’s been no secret that Ben Affleck won’t return as Batman in the new era of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DCU. However, the Superman: Legacy filmmaker has kept the fans’ hopes alive by promising that he’s talked about the Justice League star about a potential directing gig in the superhero franchise. This has led to lots of excited speculation that he might direct whoever the next Dark Knight is in The Brave and the Bold movie.
Unfortunately, for those hoping this would end up happening, Affleck has now destroyed all chances of any kind of DC return being on the cards, whether in front or behind the camera. In an eye-opening and honest interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck was asked outright if he would ever helm a DC movie under Gunn’s auspices. While the Argo alum made clear that he holds no ill will towards Gunn, Affleck maintained that he’s simply “not interested” in returning to the comic book world anytime soon.
“I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not. I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he’s going to do a great job. I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.”
For those stunned at Affleck’s admission after Gunn’s previous teases, his comments about his past DC experiences elsewhere in this same interview make it abundantly clear why he’s keen to put all things superhero in the rearview mirror of his Batmobile. As you would expect, it seems the wildly unhappy time spent on Joss Whedon’s Justice League reshoots, which the actor/director describes as “the worst experience” of his entire career, was the final straw.
Having said that, Affleck conversely expresses that he’s proud of his work in the upcoming The Flash, which reunites him with co-star Ezra Miller in what is bound to be his final outing as Bruce Wayne. In fact, Affleck admitted that he feels he was finally able to “nail” his portrayal of the Caped Crusader in this film. We’ll see it for ourselves come June 16, but don’t expect to see Affleck anywhere near DC after that.
