Ben Affleck: 'Oh S***, We Have a Problem' - The Moment He Knew He Was Done as Batman

Ben Affleck, known for his role as Batman in *Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice*, recently shared his challenging experiences playing the iconic character for DC in an interview with GQ. Reflecting on nearly a decade of portraying the Caped Crusader, Affleck described his journey within the Snyder-verse as “a really excruciating experience.” This ordeal has significantly cooled his enthusiasm for the superhero genre.

“There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience,” Affleck explained. He emphasized that it wasn’t just the nature of superhero films that soured his experience, but a broader set of issues. “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 discussed his struggles with the role, but he now provides more insight into the root of his dissatisfaction. He attributed much of his frustration to a “misalignment of agendas, understandings, and expectations.” He also acknowledged his own contributions to the negative experience, admitting, “I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either.”

Elaborating on his shortcomings, Affleck stated, “I mean, my failings as an actor, you can watch the various movies and judge. But more of my failings, 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 further admitted that his approach was lackluster: “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 tenure with DC began when he signed on to star alongside Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s *Batman v. Superman*. This role led to several cameos and even a planned solo Batman film that never materialized. Fans will recall his appearances in team-up projects like *Justice League* (both the 2017 theatrical release and the 2021 Snyder Cut), *The Flash*, and a brief cameo in *Suicide Squad* in 2016.

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Details about the canceled standalone Batman movie remain scarce, but rumors suggest it would have spanned 80 years of the Dark Knight’s history, possibly delving into the mysteries of Arkham Asylum and featuring Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke.

Affleck credited his longtime collaborator Matt Damon for helping him decide to step away from the role, but he also revealed that his own son played a role in 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 now navigating new directions, separating its darker and lighter narratives. The darker path will continue with *The Batman 2* in 2027, while the lighter side will be explored with James Gunn’s DCU, starting with *Superman* this July. As for Affleck, he has made it clear that he has no plans to return to DC to direct a film within Gunn’s new universe.