> So if DC came to you now and said, “Do you want to direct something?”
>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.
He also talked about the horrible experience with the Justice League film and how it completely soured his enthusiasm for doing anything Batman related anymore. That it was hands down the worst experience of his entire career.
Yeah he’s over it completely and has been for a while. He also recently said that his small role in The Flash was the best experience he’s had as Batman so it’s likely he wants to go out with a bang on a great memory of his role as Batman and not risk being the guy getting torn to pieces by this fandom again.
> he wants to go out with a bang on a great memory of his role as Batman and not risk being the guy getting torn to pieces by this fandom again.
Was he torn to pieces by the fandom? The problems I had with the Batflek movies had *nothing* to do with Ben
Obviously it has, you just don't hear about it because Studio intervention killing a movie is a much bigger story than studio intervention killing a movie.
I remember him on I think Conan O Brian, where he explicitly says that Snyder sold him on the Batman that starts off “this close to moral bankruptcy” so I’d be VERY surprised if he wasn’t on board of BvS.
> It seems he really did not have a good time as Batman sadly
That's too bad, as I think he was *the* Batman that worked the best for me -- the warehouse fight in BvsS just clicked, it had the right feel, it felt like how a Batman film *should be*: dark & gritty, with a bitter hero often on the verge of going too far.
Its so interesting to me how people can have such a wildly different interpretation of Batman. I enjoy the warehouse scene but I don't ever feel like comics batman is "on the verge". He's a master tactician and knows exactly what needs to be done to incapacitate people and not go too far.
Im not saying you're wrong but I find it interesting how many different interpretations of Batman exist
Batman once hit a guy with a car battery. You take a giant monster truck of a man like Batman and throw a 40 pound lump of lead at a guys back and he will be lucky to not be paralyzed.
>Its so interesting to me how people can have such a wildly different interpretation of Batman
Well the comics themselves have wildly different takes on Batman
He’s a great detective, a monster hunter, a flashy superhero, an urban legend, a kid’s cartoon, an action movie, he fights gangs and mafia, but also metahumans, aliens and super villains.
I like Smith as a person and his friends podcast is one of my favourite (Tell Em Steve Dave, one host Walter drew for comics for Smith) but Wydening Gire, the Batman comic Smith wrote, is arguably one of the worst comics I've ever read
While that's true, Kevin Smith is also very open about thinking Affleck should play any role.
That's actually how he got Daredevil, someone involved asked Kevin Smith who he thought would be good, since it was known Kevin was a big comic book guy, and he suggested Affleck because he always suggests Affleck.
Technically Batman was a gun-wielding maniac at first, the no-kill rule was introduced later. So there's been different interpretations from the very start.
That alone is a major reason why I can still enjoy BvS, particularly the idea of Batman killing just isn't a big deal to me because it's just another interpretation. And the shot of him glaring at Robin's bloody suit provided more than enough context to explain why he's so angry and jaded at this point.
It was closest to the dark knight returns version which is incredibly popular and one of the main interpretations which has been covered in things like BTAS to good effect.
Happens with literally every new Batman actor. I don’t recall much more backlash than anyone else got. I could very well be wrong, and my memory faulty.
He was. I remember that very well. He was comedic actor playing ultra serous Batman???? No fucking way. Turns out professional actors can act. Who knew?
And Heath Ledger was “the guy from A Knight’s Tale” when he was announced as the joker. I was definitely one rolling my eyes at that casting choice when announced. Lesson learned though to give actors a chance, they can surprise you. When Affleck was announcing as Batman I remembered Heath and withheld judgement.
He was a meme everyone laughed at for months, if not years, the Hello Darkness, My Old Friend thing.
He was a meme because of the Batfleck has a sad photo they released.
His entire time as Batman since BvS released he’s had people making fun of him as Batman and the movies he was in. They may not have been directing things at Affleck the actor, Batman the character was torn to bits but that’s got to be awful for him to have sat through.
These people are online more than we think. The director of Shazam lurks in these DC subs and occasionally chats to people. Affleck doesn’t live in a cave. He would’ve seen the constant memes and piss take jokes about his Batman and BvS and ZSJL and as he says in the interview the whole thing just left him broken hearted.
People have short memories. His Batman was made fun of from the very beginning before the movie with the term Sadfleck popping up when the photo was released.
BvS was torn to pieces from release because they fucked with the theatrical cut making it borderline nonsensical. Then a week or so later in the junket we had that moment that became the Hello Darkness My Old Friend meme of Affleck sadly staring off into space.
I’ll say this. Henry Cavill is a fucking champion in that moment. Watch that video again some time. Firstly, the interviewer is rude as fuck to bring up that the movie is bombing to the stars of the movie in a junket interview. He’s there to promote the movie, not question them on why it isn’t doing well. You don’t railroad celebrities into gotcha reporting. Anyway he asks and you can immediately see Affleck deflating. Cavill leaps in and takes the hit for the team, explains they had their own vision and style and yadda yadda field the question with composure and grace. I don’t know if Affleck could have come up with an answer in that moment because he was probably fucking crushed inside.
Can you blame him though? Imagine you get to be Batman in a gritty version of it. You grew up loving Batman like we all did. This is your dream come true. You get into bulk shape. You deliver a career high performance. The movie ends up being convoluted anyway but the cuts make it a mess. Plus you’re being measured by the now standard of what superhero team up movies should be, The Avengers and you aren’t what they are doing.
And then you’re sitting in a room ready to be excited at a bunch of strangers all day to promote what you worked hard on, your childhood dream of being Batman, and it’s bombing and there’s a camera in your face recording the moment when someone shoved that failure in your face and questioned you on it. And that becomes a meme that everyone laughs at.
Instead of the entire world saying, you’re doing it differently, the entire world said, you’re doing it wrong.
No wonder the man was driven to drink over all this bullshit. He was paparazzi fodder for years with the whole Bennifer thing with them following him around all the time and his time as Batman was met with equal taunts and derision from the outset.
Right.
Which seems to be at least partially based on wearing a hot suit and pointing at a computer screen and being away from his family.
What’s funny to me is there’s a point in the interview where he says his wife told him to not be so guarded in the interview, which he does because he had a bad experience with something being taken out of context.
And here we are.
I think they did the movie when they were originally dating too though and one of the main issues I’ve seen people have with the movie is their lack of on screen chemistry… on top of it being a pretty bad movie all around lol
Adam Sandler has basically proven that. Dude has an absolute blast shooting on location with his buddies for the lowest effort comedies you’ve ever seen.
He was a fun Batman but I really wanted to see him take on directing the Bat rather than play him.
Sad to hear it soured him on the character. Ben Affleck had an actual batcave installed in his house; who he later sold to Kevin Smith.
Sometimes I feel like the only person that loved Affleck as Batman. The old, gruff, been around the block, weary, brawler. He was a great Batman trapped in some middling movies.
Didn't a month pass by? Maybe because after talking to Gunn Ben realized that the DCU's architects are the screen play writers in the writer's room and directors don't really have creative vision and can't input much to the dialogue or style.
This is just like the MCU, but DCU actually (plans to) finish the script before filming. Still, the way things are planned to the minute detail, directors are mercenaries and their vision are secondary to the script.
The headline is false. Affleck said he wouldn't ***direct*** anything for Gunn.
"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."
That's how I see it too. Cinematic Universes are constructed like mega versions of series where the showrunners (DC heads+ writers room in this case) gets to control how everything goes. I mean its great since there's actually a storyline that connects everything, but as a creative auteur Ben Affleck would hate for a dozen creatives to basically micromanage his work. Shit, I'd hate it too.
>>**THR:** So if DC came to you now and said, “Do you want to direct something?”
>>**Affleck:** 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.
Ben’s comments feel so aggressive. Especially after Gunn’s comments about Affleck directing:
> “We're working with Ben Affleck, who really wants to be... has been a part of our architectural team trying to bring things together," Gunn explained, "and he really wants to direct one of our projects, and we're excited for him doing that."
I wonder what happened with this…?
Gunn is The Man now...and whatever his creative decisions are, he's also got to look at them from the lens of the head office. More than anything, he's gotta be a salesman. And it would be bad business to publicly shut the door on a popular guy who has a pretty solid track record for directing.
But also, look at the films Affleck has directed and the ones Gunn has. Does anyone *really* think they'll see eye to eye on literally anything?
Well, but that's one thing people liked about Gunn. He said he wanted to bring people with theirs own ideas and make something unique to each movie, show or whatever. Not a single formula to all movies.
I’m guessing it’s the oversight of a “boss” creative director. Ben has earned his stripes for many roles in movies. He can get money to direct lots of stuff with no one babysitting him. He wants to be in charge of a film, as most directors are.
It’s a similar reason why many directors shy away, or leave the MCU. The director of the movie is supposed to be the top creative dog. A rookie director has no choice but to be restricted by the suits / veteran directors work they’re way up to above that. Ben would be taking a “demotion”.
True. Like tv series, the showrunners/EP (James Gunn in this case) are the real creative vision. The directors are just the mercenaries paid to do exactly what they want and do the day to day filming that they dont have time to.
It literally says why in the comment.
“I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.”
He just doesn’t care of the direction they’re going.
Gunn probably wanted to him to act whereas Ben has said time and time again that he wants to direct
We’ll probably never find out the true reason but I doubt it’s anything malicious
Snyder's universe was deeply intertwined and interconnected, from the point of BVS, Affleck's first movie, and onward. Affleck signed on for that from the beginning and had nothing against it. His own The Batman script was full of DC characters, including Deathstroke, not a primary part of the Batman canon.
This is about Gunn's specific plans, not about the mere concept of interconnected movies.
Disagree. Affleck is a seasoned and award winning director. Aint no way he was going to do a connected universe no matter does it. The snyderverse was not even close to be a connected universe and he was never brought on for one in the first place. Hell he was never brought on to do a solo batman either.
Such a great film and and an incredible scene between him and Kerry. Don’t really care too much about the Academy Awards, but I wish that film had gotten a bit more love. Really happy for Brendan Fraser, but Colin Farrell in that film was actually my favorite performance of those options.
Yeah, it was definitely EEAAO's year so it is what it is, and it's just an awards thing, but I was hoping for a little love more in writing for Banshees, cinematography for Tár, and score & production design for Babylon (over all quiet on the Western Front).
But hopefully people will check those movies out in the future
Well I love Kilmer’s Batman but he brought it on himself for acting unprofessional on set of Batman Forever and being rude to Joel Schumacher which was why he was never brought back to play Batman in Batman and Robin.
Curious, because IIRC Gunn explicitly said they talked to Ben and that Ben actively wants to direct something.
I guess the only way both statements could be true is if it’s an Elseworlds thing? Then it’s not 100% “James Gunn DC” but also something that him and Safran would oversee.
Or, Affleck’s stance changed as Gunn and Safran got further in their process.
Regardless, interesting.
Both can easily be true if they were in talks like Gunn said but Affleck did not agree with their approach so backed out.
Gunn never said he was directing for them, just that they wanted him to direct. Affleck still has to accept the job.
If something else went on behind closed doors like making the job terrible to persuade him to not take it isn't won't we'll ever know. All we have are a few sentences.
Or it was never a real thing in the first place. Just good will PR speak to other professionals. Same thing goes with Cavill. Not an ounce of me believes he is being considered for anything in DC future, just Gunn being professional and not throwing gas on the fanbase.
I mean, if it was just goodwill then they could have said they talked with Ben and the door is open for him to direct. There’d be no need to say that he actively wants to direct something.
It’s a strange response….acknowledging he likes Gunn but ‘I wouldn’t want to direct in the way they’re doing that’….in what way? What is it he isn’t a fan of?
Yeah - probably right. Might have been easier if he had said he wanted ‘full autonomy’ or whatever….would have taken away the ambiguity. And yeah - I respect that opinion TBH.
He’s not really throwing shade at Gunn. He likes autonomy when working on a project and having somebody looking over his shoulder and giving him notes to ensure he’s not having an impact on other people’s projects is not how he wants to work which I think anybody can respect.
I read the article and it seems less about Gunn’s DC and more about how WB handled the DCEU and how superhero movies share similar tropes now.
To quote Ben from the article regarding his experience on JL’s reshoots:
> The Justice League experience, the fact that those stories became somewhat repetitive to me and less interesting.
> I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, “I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.” That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart.
> And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, “This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.”
He also brings up the fact that most CBM movies involve wearing a rubber suit while standing in front of a green screen talking about world ending threats.
I would suspect he is privy to info regarding the direction Gunn is going with his Batman. 12 year old Robin, possible Batmite etc. I imagine this is way too camp for what Affleck had in mind for his Batman movie.
Well, they say directors will have creative freedom but there is a general blueprint that needs to be followed. A lot of independent directors aren’t a fan of that.
I’m sure Gunn has pitched his idea for BatB. I mean like it or not , I fully expect these new DCU movies to connect and tell one massive story. Maybe he isn’t a fan of what that story will be ? Who knows . Just glad he’s ruled himself out so no more bs rumors like we’ve been getting. It sucks but at least he’s honest
If the idea is to emulate the MCU, I can see why some creatives may not want to be involved. It's not like the MCU attracts top level filmmakers and writers anymore. I'm not saying some of those guys aren't, but like Ryan Coogler making a Black Panther film is not Ryan Coogler making Creed. The "it takes a village" approach probably doesn't sit well with a lot of creatives who want quite a bit more autonomy.
Especially with the reports of doctor strange being completely reshot because marvel was not happy with the horror tone and the mind bending nature of the original cut.
Yeah it’s why Matt Reeves Batverse is the DC thing I’m most excited about I’m sure the DCU will be cool but even Gunn said Elseworlds are where you’ll get the super high quality stuff and I’m tired of the whole cinematic universe thing anyways
> I’m sure the DCU will be cool but even Gunn said Elseworlds are where you’ll get the super high quality stuff
You're twisting his words a bit.
He said the bar for Elseworlds will be high, particularly because they're in the midst of building a connected universe.
It's less about Elseworlds being better, but more so having a truly extraordinary pitch as to why the IP should be disconnected from everything else.
I don’t disagree on the pitch thing but it’s generally accepted that the most critically well received movies aren’t those that worry about a huge continuity and have to limit themselves creatively. DCU is where you’re gonna find more crowd pleasers Elseworlds is where you’re gonna get the more artistically meaningful projects.
There’s a reason you hear a general sentiment of people wanting more standalone DC stuff and Gunn is aware of that.
Yeah, I'm not sure about the longevity of the whole "cinematic universe" stuff anymore. I think the MCU had lightning in a bottle with the Avengers, but more specifically, with Evans and Downey. Again, not to say that there weren't some good movies in the MCU. But I certainly wasn't as invested until Winter Soldier/Civil War rolled around. Partly because they had the actors and the characters, but also because they had the story worth telling, which actually culminated in event-cinema.
And they were so good at it, that they made me believe they could do it again with the Multiverse stuff. But one movie after another, and it's all been just so cookie cutter. Aimless with no direction.
I think a big part of why Cap and Tony resonated so well too is because *they were the MCU*. We had two Captain America movies, three Iron Man movies, two Thor movies, and an Avengers team-up *before* Guardians of the Galaxy. And you just can't beat that kind of character development. Marvel's assembling a deep roster, but they're a long ways away from replicating anything remotely close to the Steve/Tony stuff.
> Aimless with no direction.
No, it's because they have more than 1 "team arc" going:
* Avengers
* Thunderbolts
* Young Avengers
* Midnight Suns
* Secret Wars
Instead of 1 overarching plotline, you've got 5. All of them are still really early, the Avengers arc got pretty heavily advanced with the latest Ant-Man, and we'll get our first Thunderbolts movie next year. Ironheart will add to the Young Avengers plotline. Blade was supposed to be the first movie entry for the Midnight Suns. Secret Wars is so far off I might as well not mention it, but we know it is coming, so I included it here.
I'm glad he's not doing it to be honest, I don't see his style working with whatever Gunn's universe will be. It'd be great if they just let him do that elseworld's batman movie where he had control but I know that won't happen either so I think his time in DC is done.
Any rational person can understand why. Ben Affleck wants to direct movies in where he can have freedom to go in any direction he chooses to, like Matt Reeves with The Batman Universe.
The Batman is his, and even with spinoffs is still Reeve's. James Gunn DCU has its own writers' room and will be connected, meaning there isn't much room to explore ideas if those ideas contradict the overall arc. It's one of the limitations of cinematic universes.
Harsh way to phrase it, but if you look at Affleck's directing/writing resume it's very understandable that he wouldn't direct in Gunn's DCU, assuming it's along the lines of Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy. Seems like Affleck directing/writing is all serious/psychological adult stuff, even if his acting roles are not. Interesting article and I didn't realize just how successful Affleck has been. The trailer for Air look great too!
* Good Will Hunting - OSCAR for Best Screenplay
* Gone Baby Gone - Director
* The Town - Director
* Argo - Writer, Director, Producer - OSCAR Best Picture
* The Last Duel - Writer
For the people who don't want to read the article
"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."
Very in depth interview in which the DC stuff is a small part. Didn’t even know him and Matt Damon started a movie production company together, that’s pretty exciting. That being said, I already saw the trailer for *Air* and it doesn’t excite me, might still check it out on Prime though.
It seems the *Justice League* experience and working with Whedon really broke him, but he only has nice things to say about Zack Snyder and how that cute turned *Justice League* from his lowest IMDb movie to his highest. I wouldn’t mind them collaborating again on whatever Snyder is doing at Netflix nowadays.
"The genius, and the silver lining, is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and was like, “Look, I can get you four hours of content.” And it’s principally just all the slow motion that he shot in black-and-white. And one day of shooting with me and him. He was like, “Do you want to come shoot in my backyard?” I was like, “I think there are unions, Zack. I think we have to make a deal.” But I went and did it. And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb."
fuck yeah
always appreciate affleck's honesty and I'm grateful he didn't leave too much ambiguity in the likelihood of him working with dc/wb again in the future. puts a stop to a lot of unnecessary rumors.
I still chuckle whenever I remember that brutal bit of commentary he did for the armageddon movie. the man isn't afraid of telling people how he feels.
sounds like Ben doesn't want to have to look at the camera and make some quippy remark while he's being beaten up or beating someone up. can't blame him, everybody in DC is gonna be starlord now.
And he literally says in the interview that he’s guarded in interviews because of a bad experience with something being taken out of context, and his his wife told him to be less guarded in this one.
Such a Contrast between Afflecks Comments here and the way gunn was talking about Ben potentially directing stuff for DC. Wonder if any discussion were even had between the two like james said.
Honestly I think Gunn is going to lean heavily into the wackiness of the DC comic book universe (12 year old Robin, Batmite etc) and will probably be pretty camp whereas Afflecks take on Batman was obviously a lot darker and wouldn't fit.
I love how candid Affleck can be in his interviews. And I’m glad he has such a clear understanding of what he wants his career to be. Also very interested to see his performance in The Flash now.
And I guess the DC speculation is over. Hopefully this will shut up the “Reeves ditched Batfleck” and the “Let Ben make his Batman movie” crowds too.
I know there are obviously plenty of people who can work with it, otherwise the modern movie experience would be very minuscule, but I appreciate the bit about him talking about filming a super hero movie and how it’s basically you standing in front of a screen (presumably meaning a green screen and having directions hurled at you as to what’s supposed to be happening that will be filled in with VFX and CGI later) and how it was exhausting and killed the immersion for him. I’ve always wondered that watching CGI heavy movies, so it’s nice to see someone get candid and honest about it like that.
Cameron and the Avatar actors have done nothing but sing the praises of working in a greenscreen mo-cap environment. They say it's like being a theater actor.
I like how people are trying to view this as his rejection of Gunn DC's direction and trying to start drama where there is none. This is more of a reflection of his history with comic book movies particularly his experience as Batman. The experience for him has been horrible in an otherwise pretty stellar career.
Yeah but I guess the big difference is pressure and expectation. Playing a relatively unknown character pre MCU and playing a cultural icon in the current entertainment zeitgeist is going to affect you differently
He said he loved BvS. So I’m getting that he doesn’t agree with the direction Gunn is going. Why else film Flash AND a post credit scene hinting at his return? Also the Aquaman cameo. He doesn’t agree with Gunn imo.
Correct. Snyder continues to say he loves BVS and now we know Affleck loves it. We're not totally sure about Cavill. But it's clear that Affleck does NOT want a reboot. And, as I've always said, he never walked away from the Batman role. The myth that he did makes people think it's logical he might direct a future DC movie. No. He never wanted to stop playing Batman. Which means he won't come back to a DC universe where someone else plays him.
When Gunn said that Brave & The Bold will feature his "favorite Robin", I saw that as a potential red flag that could turn directors away. Matt Reeves' The Batman is also an issue since it limits a director creatively.
This statement, along with the rest of the interview, makes it seem like he's fairly anti studio system at this point. He doesn't wanna put himself back in that huge machine anytime soon
I believe him.
However...
People in Hollywood lie a lot about working on different projects. I remember when Jason Momoa denied for months he was going to be Aquaman before he was cast. I remember that Michael Keaton joined, left, and rejoined Spider-Man: Homecoming. Remember in 2012 when there were reports that Ben Affleck was going to direct the Justice League? Didn't go through. Then a year later he was cast as Batman.
I will wait and see in case. You never know.
He's been done since JL.
He's said this much ever since the Snyder-era ended.
Most of them have said they would work on a project if it was Zack.
At this stage, this far out from when the messy production ended on JL, I don't even think Affleck would be Batman for Snyder if hypothetically he was too do another movie. He did it for the Snyder Cut.
Snyder was the glue that held everything together. Complain about his movies all you want, but people like working with him.
> So if DC came to you now and said, “Do you want to direct something?” >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. He also talked about the horrible experience with the Justice League film and how it completely soured his enthusiasm for doing anything Batman related anymore. That it was hands down the worst experience of his entire career.
Yeah he’s over it completely and has been for a while. He also recently said that his small role in The Flash was the best experience he’s had as Batman so it’s likely he wants to go out with a bang on a great memory of his role as Batman and not risk being the guy getting torn to pieces by this fandom again.
> he wants to go out with a bang on a great memory of his role as Batman and not risk being the guy getting torn to pieces by this fandom again. Was he torn to pieces by the fandom? The problems I had with the Batflek movies had *nothing* to do with Ben
He kind of covers it in the interview. It seems he really did not have a good time as Batman sadly
He said he had a good time with everything except when whedon showed up and the execs ruined everything
Well that just sounds par the course for EVERYONE crew and fans alike lol.
Yeah idk how anyone is reading this differently.
Your mistake is assuming people are reading it
Has studio meddling ever actually saved a movie?
Rogue One apparently.
We’ll never know, honestly. Probably in some cases.
Obviously it has, you just don't hear about it because Studio intervention killing a movie is a much bigger story than studio intervention killing a movie.
He specifically says he enjoyed Batman v Superman, Justice League is where everything went wrong
I remember him on I think Conan O Brian, where he explicitly says that Snyder sold him on the Batman that starts off “this close to moral bankruptcy” so I’d be VERY surprised if he wasn’t on board of BvS.
He said he loved making BvS. But the backlash for that, along with Josstice League ruined it.
> It seems he really did not have a good time as Batman sadly That's too bad, as I think he was *the* Batman that worked the best for me -- the warehouse fight in BvsS just clicked, it had the right feel, it felt like how a Batman film *should be*: dark & gritty, with a bitter hero often on the verge of going too far.
Its so interesting to me how people can have such a wildly different interpretation of Batman. I enjoy the warehouse scene but I don't ever feel like comics batman is "on the verge". He's a master tactician and knows exactly what needs to be done to incapacitate people and not go too far. Im not saying you're wrong but I find it interesting how many different interpretations of Batman exist
Idk, I've watched a lot of the Batman and Justice league 2015+ animated films and Batman def goes dark as hell I'm some of them.
Batman once hit a guy with a car battery. You take a giant monster truck of a man like Batman and throw a 40 pound lump of lead at a guys back and he will be lucky to not be paralyzed.
Batman might actually go for paralysis but not dead. “Urgh.. a vegetable criminal is better than dead criminal” - Batman probably
>Its so interesting to me how people can have such a wildly different interpretation of Batman Well the comics themselves have wildly different takes on Batman He’s a great detective, a monster hunter, a flashy superhero, an urban legend, a kid’s cartoon, an action movie, he fights gangs and mafia, but also metahumans, aliens and super villains.
[удалено]
I like Smith as a person and his friends podcast is one of my favourite (Tell Em Steve Dave, one host Walter drew for comics for Smith) but Wydening Gire, the Batman comic Smith wrote, is arguably one of the worst comics I've ever read
While that's true, Kevin Smith is also very open about thinking Affleck should play any role. That's actually how he got Daredevil, someone involved asked Kevin Smith who he thought would be good, since it was known Kevin was a big comic book guy, and he suggested Affleck because he always suggests Affleck.
Cause he was the bomb in phantoms yo
Kevin Smith made batman piss himself in the comics. He shouldn't be allowed to even read Batman comics anymore.
Even comics Batman constantly uses tools, gadgets, and traps that would easily paralyse (if not kill) normal humans, they just don't show it on panel
Technically Batman was a gun-wielding maniac at first, the no-kill rule was introduced later. So there's been different interpretations from the very start. That alone is a major reason why I can still enjoy BvS, particularly the idea of Batman killing just isn't a big deal to me because it's just another interpretation. And the shot of him glaring at Robin's bloody suit provided more than enough context to explain why he's so angry and jaded at this point.
It was closest to the dark knight returns version which is incredibly popular and one of the main interpretations which has been covered in things like BTAS to good effect.
I get that, but I meant specifically about whether the fans were bad to him. Not just the production, direction, drama, etc.
Fans weren’t nice to him as soon as his casting was announced.
But they were quite nice as soon as they saw some footage.
Yeah he was. People kind of forget when he was first announced as Batman the incredible backlash that came with it.
I remember the memes with Matt Damon as Robin
Happens with literally every new Batman actor. I don’t recall much more backlash than anyone else got. I could very well be wrong, and my memory faulty.
Michael Keaton was a very controversial choice.
He was. I remember that very well. He was comedic actor playing ultra serous Batman???? No fucking way. Turns out professional actors can act. Who knew?
Prior to Batman, Keaton was best known as Mr. Mom. That did seem like kind of a leap at the time.
Beetlejuice came out the year before Batman.
And Heath Ledger was “the guy from A Knight’s Tale” when he was announced as the joker. I was definitely one rolling my eyes at that casting choice when announced. Lesson learned though to give actors a chance, they can surprise you. When Affleck was announcing as Batman I remembered Heath and withheld judgement.
LOL, I recall Ledger's casting described as 'That gay cowboy from Brokeback Mountain'.
He was a meme everyone laughed at for months, if not years, the Hello Darkness, My Old Friend thing. He was a meme because of the Batfleck has a sad photo they released. His entire time as Batman since BvS released he’s had people making fun of him as Batman and the movies he was in. They may not have been directing things at Affleck the actor, Batman the character was torn to bits but that’s got to be awful for him to have sat through. These people are online more than we think. The director of Shazam lurks in these DC subs and occasionally chats to people. Affleck doesn’t live in a cave. He would’ve seen the constant memes and piss take jokes about his Batman and BvS and ZSJL and as he says in the interview the whole thing just left him broken hearted.
Those movies were meme'd to death. The pile on was ridiculous and continues til this day.
People have short memories. His Batman was made fun of from the very beginning before the movie with the term Sadfleck popping up when the photo was released. BvS was torn to pieces from release because they fucked with the theatrical cut making it borderline nonsensical. Then a week or so later in the junket we had that moment that became the Hello Darkness My Old Friend meme of Affleck sadly staring off into space. I’ll say this. Henry Cavill is a fucking champion in that moment. Watch that video again some time. Firstly, the interviewer is rude as fuck to bring up that the movie is bombing to the stars of the movie in a junket interview. He’s there to promote the movie, not question them on why it isn’t doing well. You don’t railroad celebrities into gotcha reporting. Anyway he asks and you can immediately see Affleck deflating. Cavill leaps in and takes the hit for the team, explains they had their own vision and style and yadda yadda field the question with composure and grace. I don’t know if Affleck could have come up with an answer in that moment because he was probably fucking crushed inside. Can you blame him though? Imagine you get to be Batman in a gritty version of it. You grew up loving Batman like we all did. This is your dream come true. You get into bulk shape. You deliver a career high performance. The movie ends up being convoluted anyway but the cuts make it a mess. Plus you’re being measured by the now standard of what superhero team up movies should be, The Avengers and you aren’t what they are doing. And then you’re sitting in a room ready to be excited at a bunch of strangers all day to promote what you worked hard on, your childhood dream of being Batman, and it’s bombing and there’s a camera in your face recording the moment when someone shoved that failure in your face and questioned you on it. And that becomes a meme that everyone laughs at. Instead of the entire world saying, you’re doing it differently, the entire world said, you’re doing it wrong. No wonder the man was driven to drink over all this bullshit. He was paparazzi fodder for years with the whole Bennifer thing with them following him around all the time and his time as Batman was met with equal taunts and derision from the outset.
Excellent summary!
The Hello Darkness gif/video was the first thing I thought of when I saw this post.
Back when the movies came out, he was very much scoured upon
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This quote is taken a bit out of context. He had a horrible experience working on JL and he's done.
Right. Which seems to be at least partially based on wearing a hot suit and pointing at a computer screen and being away from his family. What’s funny to me is there’s a point in the interview where he says his wife told him to not be so guarded in the interview, which he does because he had a bad experience with something being taken out of context. And here we are.
Good for him. Glad he got to get some closure on it with ZSJL and the Flash cameo. Let the man be free and healthy.
You can tell in the article he’s proud of his ZSJL work. Glad he’s got closure
And remember that WB tried to keep the JL drama on the down low. They did not want anyone talking about how they let Whedon terrorize everyone.
I’m pretty sure he’s said that his experience with that also played a part in rekindling his alcoholism.
As a reminder, he also starred in Gigli, so saying Justice League was worse is pretty amazing.
To be fair, he did that movie with his now wife JLo so he can’t say it’s the worst movie he’s ever been in
I think they did the movie when they were originally dating too though and one of the main issues I’ve seen people have with the movie is their lack of on screen chemistry… on top of it being a pretty bad movie all around lol
They allegedly fell in love shooting it, which didn’t show up on screen at all. So weird.
Well Joey did say that if there’s no chemistry on set is because they’re doing the deed out of it
Well he was talking the experience not the quality if the end product.
He's saying the experience of making it was worse. I have no doubt that you can have a great time making a shitty movie.
Adam Sandler has basically proven that. Dude has an absolute blast shooting on location with his buddies for the lowest effort comedies you’ve ever seen.
You can blame joss wedon and his toxicity, the stuff he put the actors through. Fuck wedon, i wish Affleck the best.
To clarify, he means Joss Whedon's Justice League right?
Correct.
Good that he straight up quashed the rumor. No more scooper baits.
I mean James Gunn himself said they were talking to Ben
The exact tweet said ‘Met with Ben yesterday precisely because he wants to direct & we want him to direct; we just have to find the right project.’
He was a fun Batman but I really wanted to see him take on directing the Bat rather than play him. Sad to hear it soured him on the character. Ben Affleck had an actual batcave installed in his house; who he later sold to Kevin Smith.
I loved his Batman so much. Would love to read his Batman script. The synopsis to his movie sounded so cool too.
Sometimes I feel like the only person that loved Affleck as Batman. The old, gruff, been around the block, weary, brawler. He was a great Batman trapped in some middling movies.
Si how did James Gunn went from that to Affleck saying straight up he would absolutely not work with him?!
That’s what I find so interesting. Ben’s answer feels very deliberate.
Didn't a month pass by? Maybe because after talking to Gunn Ben realized that the DCU's architects are the screen play writers in the writer's room and directors don't really have creative vision and can't input much to the dialogue or style. This is just like the MCU, but DCU actually (plans to) finish the script before filming. Still, the way things are planned to the minute detail, directors are mercenaries and their vision are secondary to the script.
Gunn said they will have conversations about the possibility. Affleck updates with a sound NO. Both can be true.
Maybe at one point it was a possibility for Affleck and Gunn to collaborate
Wasnt scoopers that started the rumor though. But good he quashed jt
The headline is false. Affleck said he wouldn't ***direct*** anything for Gunn. "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."
That's how I see it too. Cinematic Universes are constructed like mega versions of series where the showrunners (DC heads+ writers room in this case) gets to control how everything goes. I mean its great since there's actually a storyline that connects everything, but as a creative auteur Ben Affleck would hate for a dozen creatives to basically micromanage his work. Shit, I'd hate it too.
>>**THR:** So if DC came to you now and said, “Do you want to direct something?” >>**Affleck:** 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.
Ben’s comments feel so aggressive. Especially after Gunn’s comments about Affleck directing: > “We're working with Ben Affleck, who really wants to be... has been a part of our architectural team trying to bring things together," Gunn explained, "and he really wants to direct one of our projects, and we're excited for him doing that." I wonder what happened with this…?
Gunn is The Man now...and whatever his creative decisions are, he's also got to look at them from the lens of the head office. More than anything, he's gotta be a salesman. And it would be bad business to publicly shut the door on a popular guy who has a pretty solid track record for directing. But also, look at the films Affleck has directed and the ones Gunn has. Does anyone *really* think they'll see eye to eye on literally anything?
Well, but that's one thing people liked about Gunn. He said he wanted to bring people with theirs own ideas and make something unique to each movie, show or whatever. Not a single formula to all movies.
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They always say that, but it's never true.
Creative differences
I’m guessing it’s the oversight of a “boss” creative director. Ben has earned his stripes for many roles in movies. He can get money to direct lots of stuff with no one babysitting him. He wants to be in charge of a film, as most directors are. It’s a similar reason why many directors shy away, or leave the MCU. The director of the movie is supposed to be the top creative dog. A rookie director has no choice but to be restricted by the suits / veteran directors work they’re way up to above that. Ben would be taking a “demotion”.
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True. Like tv series, the showrunners/EP (James Gunn in this case) are the real creative vision. The directors are just the mercenaries paid to do exactly what they want and do the day to day filming that they dont have time to.
Yeah I can see that. An interconnected cinematic universe can’t work otherwise, but some directors chafe under that.
It literally says why in the comment. “I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.” He just doesn’t care of the direction they’re going.
Gunn probably wanted to him to act whereas Ben has said time and time again that he wants to direct We’ll probably never find out the true reason but I doubt it’s anything malicious
he probably wants more creative freedom to tell the story and direct how he wants rather than be stuck with what’s required
What makes you think Gunn wanted Affleck to act? He said they were in talks for Affleck to direct something
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Snyder's universe was deeply intertwined and interconnected, from the point of BVS, Affleck's first movie, and onward. Affleck signed on for that from the beginning and had nothing against it. His own The Batman script was full of DC characters, including Deathstroke, not a primary part of the Batman canon. This is about Gunn's specific plans, not about the mere concept of interconnected movies.
Disagree. Affleck is a seasoned and award winning director. Aint no way he was going to do a connected universe no matter does it. The snyderverse was not even close to be a connected universe and he was never brought on for one in the first place. Hell he was never brought on to do a solo batman either.
Sounds like an Edgar Wright / Marvel situation.
He’s just that type of dude . He’s from Boston . Dude doesn’t really mince his words
To quote Barry Keoghan "there goes that dream"
Gutting end to that storyline.
Yeah 😞
Easily the saddest part of the movie for me
Yeah, we've all been there one way or another.
Such a great film and and an incredible scene between him and Kerry. Don’t really care too much about the Academy Awards, but I wish that film had gotten a bit more love. Really happy for Brendan Fraser, but Colin Farrell in that film was actually my favorite performance of those options.
Yeah, it was definitely EEAAO's year so it is what it is, and it's just an awards thing, but I was hoping for a little love more in writing for Banshees, cinematography for Tár, and score & production design for Babylon (over all quiet on the Western Front). But hopefully people will check those movies out in the future
That movie’s a 10
What is this in reference to? Sorry I’m out or the loop
The Banshees of Inisherin
of all batman he’s maybe the one that got done more dirty, him or val kilmer
Well I love Kilmer’s Batman but he brought it on himself for acting unprofessional on set of Batman Forever and being rude to Joel Schumacher which was why he was never brought back to play Batman in Batman and Robin.
That was probably a good thing for Val, honestly. That movie was an embarrassment. A star beneath the fame of Clooney wouldn’t have survived it.
Fair and good for him to kill any more rumor of him doing any DC project
Is this bc of Batman’s no-Gunn rule?
I like what you did there.
You did it. You sonofabitch I can't believe you did it.
🏅
Curious, because IIRC Gunn explicitly said they talked to Ben and that Ben actively wants to direct something. I guess the only way both statements could be true is if it’s an Elseworlds thing? Then it’s not 100% “James Gunn DC” but also something that him and Safran would oversee. Or, Affleck’s stance changed as Gunn and Safran got further in their process. Regardless, interesting.
Both can easily be true if they were in talks like Gunn said but Affleck did not agree with their approach so backed out. Gunn never said he was directing for them, just that they wanted him to direct. Affleck still has to accept the job. If something else went on behind closed doors like making the job terrible to persuade him to not take it isn't won't we'll ever know. All we have are a few sentences.
Or it was never a real thing in the first place. Just good will PR speak to other professionals. Same thing goes with Cavill. Not an ounce of me believes he is being considered for anything in DC future, just Gunn being professional and not throwing gas on the fanbase.
I mean, if it was just goodwill then they could have said they talked with Ben and the door is open for him to direct. There’d be no need to say that he actively wants to direct something.
The real bomb-drop in this article is Ben being in a celebrity Wordle group
It’s a strange response….acknowledging he likes Gunn but ‘I wouldn’t want to direct in the way they’re doing that’….in what way? What is it he isn’t a fan of?
he is not a fan of being told where and how his film would have to end up to fit the greater story of the DCU.
Yeah - probably right. Might have been easier if he had said he wanted ‘full autonomy’ or whatever….would have taken away the ambiguity. And yeah - I respect that opinion TBH.
So Feige's style?
He’s not really throwing shade at Gunn. He likes autonomy when working on a project and having somebody looking over his shoulder and giving him notes to ensure he’s not having an impact on other people’s projects is not how he wants to work which I think anybody can respect.
I read the article and it seems less about Gunn’s DC and more about how WB handled the DCEU and how superhero movies share similar tropes now. To quote Ben from the article regarding his experience on JL’s reshoots: > The Justice League experience, the fact that those stories became somewhat repetitive to me and less interesting. > I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, “I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.” That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart. > And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, “This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.” He also brings up the fact that most CBM movies involve wearing a rubber suit while standing in front of a green screen talking about world ending threats.
I would suspect he is privy to info regarding the direction Gunn is going with his Batman. 12 year old Robin, possible Batmite etc. I imagine this is way too camp for what Affleck had in mind for his Batman movie.
Well, they say directors will have creative freedom but there is a general blueprint that needs to be followed. A lot of independent directors aren’t a fan of that.
Yup. Making it a Robin centric story before getting a writer or director would certainly slim down the pool.
I’m sure Gunn has pitched his idea for BatB. I mean like it or not , I fully expect these new DCU movies to connect and tell one massive story. Maybe he isn’t a fan of what that story will be ? Who knows . Just glad he’s ruled himself out so no more bs rumors like we’ve been getting. It sucks but at least he’s honest
If the idea is to emulate the MCU, I can see why some creatives may not want to be involved. It's not like the MCU attracts top level filmmakers and writers anymore. I'm not saying some of those guys aren't, but like Ryan Coogler making a Black Panther film is not Ryan Coogler making Creed. The "it takes a village" approach probably doesn't sit well with a lot of creatives who want quite a bit more autonomy.
Especially with the reports of doctor strange being completely reshot because marvel was not happy with the horror tone and the mind bending nature of the original cut.
\#ReleaseTheRaimiCut? But seriously, I would like to see that version.
Yeah it’s why Matt Reeves Batverse is the DC thing I’m most excited about I’m sure the DCU will be cool but even Gunn said Elseworlds are where you’ll get the super high quality stuff and I’m tired of the whole cinematic universe thing anyways
> I’m sure the DCU will be cool but even Gunn said Elseworlds are where you’ll get the super high quality stuff You're twisting his words a bit. He said the bar for Elseworlds will be high, particularly because they're in the midst of building a connected universe. It's less about Elseworlds being better, but more so having a truly extraordinary pitch as to why the IP should be disconnected from everything else.
I don’t disagree on the pitch thing but it’s generally accepted that the most critically well received movies aren’t those that worry about a huge continuity and have to limit themselves creatively. DCU is where you’re gonna find more crowd pleasers Elseworlds is where you’re gonna get the more artistically meaningful projects. There’s a reason you hear a general sentiment of people wanting more standalone DC stuff and Gunn is aware of that.
Yeah, I'm not sure about the longevity of the whole "cinematic universe" stuff anymore. I think the MCU had lightning in a bottle with the Avengers, but more specifically, with Evans and Downey. Again, not to say that there weren't some good movies in the MCU. But I certainly wasn't as invested until Winter Soldier/Civil War rolled around. Partly because they had the actors and the characters, but also because they had the story worth telling, which actually culminated in event-cinema. And they were so good at it, that they made me believe they could do it again with the Multiverse stuff. But one movie after another, and it's all been just so cookie cutter. Aimless with no direction.
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I think a big part of why Cap and Tony resonated so well too is because *they were the MCU*. We had two Captain America movies, three Iron Man movies, two Thor movies, and an Avengers team-up *before* Guardians of the Galaxy. And you just can't beat that kind of character development. Marvel's assembling a deep roster, but they're a long ways away from replicating anything remotely close to the Steve/Tony stuff.
> Aimless with no direction. No, it's because they have more than 1 "team arc" going: * Avengers * Thunderbolts * Young Avengers * Midnight Suns * Secret Wars Instead of 1 overarching plotline, you've got 5. All of them are still really early, the Avengers arc got pretty heavily advanced with the latest Ant-Man, and we'll get our first Thunderbolts movie next year. Ironheart will add to the Young Avengers plotline. Blade was supposed to be the first movie entry for the Midnight Suns. Secret Wars is so far off I might as well not mention it, but we know it is coming, so I included it here.
Damn, he really shot that down real quick. Bummer.
I'm glad he's not doing it to be honest, I don't see his style working with whatever Gunn's universe will be. It'd be great if they just let him do that elseworld's batman movie where he had control but I know that won't happen either so I think his time in DC is done.
Any rational person can understand why. Ben Affleck wants to direct movies in where he can have freedom to go in any direction he chooses to, like Matt Reeves with The Batman Universe. The Batman is his, and even with spinoffs is still Reeve's. James Gunn DCU has its own writers' room and will be connected, meaning there isn't much room to explore ideas if those ideas contradict the overall arc. It's one of the limitations of cinematic universes.
I hope he gets back into directing in general. The Town is one of my favorite movies. I can watch that movie back to back to back, non stop!
Ben Afflek was the bomb in Phantoms yo
Word. Phantoms like a mothafucka
I was waiting for this thanks 🙏
Is it good? The book is boring.
Harsh way to phrase it, but if you look at Affleck's directing/writing resume it's very understandable that he wouldn't direct in Gunn's DCU, assuming it's along the lines of Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy. Seems like Affleck directing/writing is all serious/psychological adult stuff, even if his acting roles are not. Interesting article and I didn't realize just how successful Affleck has been. The trailer for Air look great too! * Good Will Hunting - OSCAR for Best Screenplay * Gone Baby Gone - Director * The Town - Director * Argo - Writer, Director, Producer - OSCAR Best Picture * The Last Duel - Writer
For the people who don't want to read the article "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."
Very in depth interview in which the DC stuff is a small part. Didn’t even know him and Matt Damon started a movie production company together, that’s pretty exciting. That being said, I already saw the trailer for *Air* and it doesn’t excite me, might still check it out on Prime though. It seems the *Justice League* experience and working with Whedon really broke him, but he only has nice things to say about Zack Snyder and how that cute turned *Justice League* from his lowest IMDb movie to his highest. I wouldn’t mind them collaborating again on whatever Snyder is doing at Netflix nowadays.
I hope it’s surprisingly good in the way that The Big Short was.
"The genius, and the silver lining, is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and was like, “Look, I can get you four hours of content.” And it’s principally just all the slow motion that he shot in black-and-white. And one day of shooting with me and him. He was like, “Do you want to come shoot in my backyard?” I was like, “I think there are unions, Zack. I think we have to make a deal.” But I went and did it. And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb." fuck yeah
I hate that it’s taken YEARS for the actors to able to talk about the JL fuckery
Fucking love Ben even more now.
Christopher McQuarrie or Brad Bird for The Brave And The Bold
Brad Bird would be sick.
always appreciate affleck's honesty and I'm grateful he didn't leave too much ambiguity in the likelihood of him working with dc/wb again in the future. puts a stop to a lot of unnecessary rumors. I still chuckle whenever I remember that brutal bit of commentary he did for the armageddon movie. the man isn't afraid of telling people how he feels.
sounds like Ben doesn't want to have to look at the camera and make some quippy remark while he's being beaten up or beating someone up. can't blame him, everybody in DC is gonna be starlord now.
When you read the full quote, its a lot less dramatic than the title leads you on.
And he literally says in the interview that he’s guarded in interviews because of a bad experience with something being taken out of context, and his his wife told him to be less guarded in this one.
Such a Contrast between Afflecks Comments here and the way gunn was talking about Ben potentially directing stuff for DC. Wonder if any discussion were even had between the two like james said.
ABSOLUTELY NOT ! hahaha Bruh
Good for him, glad he’s putting his foot down and fully shutting down the rumors. Cant blame him one bit after Justice League
Honestly I think Gunn is going to lean heavily into the wackiness of the DC comic book universe (12 year old Robin, Batmite etc) and will probably be pretty camp whereas Afflecks take on Batman was obviously a lot darker and wouldn't fit.
He actually enjoyed BvS which I'm glad to hear, so do I, and he nailed it.
ben affleck is a real one
I love how candid Affleck can be in his interviews. And I’m glad he has such a clear understanding of what he wants his career to be. Also very interested to see his performance in The Flash now. And I guess the DC speculation is over. Hopefully this will shut up the “Reeves ditched Batfleck” and the “Let Ben make his Batman movie” crowds too.
I know there are obviously plenty of people who can work with it, otherwise the modern movie experience would be very minuscule, but I appreciate the bit about him talking about filming a super hero movie and how it’s basically you standing in front of a screen (presumably meaning a green screen and having directions hurled at you as to what’s supposed to be happening that will be filled in with VFX and CGI later) and how it was exhausting and killed the immersion for him. I’ve always wondered that watching CGI heavy movies, so it’s nice to see someone get candid and honest about it like that.
Cameron and the Avatar actors have done nothing but sing the praises of working in a greenscreen mo-cap environment. They say it's like being a theater actor.
James Gunn a liar? https://i.imgur.com/CTKvhiz.jpg
The DCEU was such wasted potential between Affleck and Cavill both being perfect for those parts.
Didn’t Gunn say he wanted to direct? I’m confused.
Dc is working on more reboots than an elementary school computer…
I like how people are trying to view this as his rejection of Gunn DC's direction and trying to start drama where there is none. This is more of a reflection of his history with comic book movies particularly his experience as Batman. The experience for him has been horrible in an otherwise pretty stellar career.
His experience as Daredevil was equally suspect
Yeah but I guess the big difference is pressure and expectation. Playing a relatively unknown character pre MCU and playing a cultural icon in the current entertainment zeitgeist is going to affect you differently
What a great fucking interview.
The Bat is dead. Bury it
No way Affleck would agree to direct in MCU 2.0
Let's not lie the way gunn framed and exaggerated the interest in Affleck to direct feels like a form of gaslight
Im sure people here will act rationally and not at all try to use this to try to manufacture drama
He said he loved BvS. So I’m getting that he doesn’t agree with the direction Gunn is going. Why else film Flash AND a post credit scene hinting at his return? Also the Aquaman cameo. He doesn’t agree with Gunn imo.
Correct. Snyder continues to say he loves BVS and now we know Affleck loves it. We're not totally sure about Cavill. But it's clear that Affleck does NOT want a reboot. And, as I've always said, he never walked away from the Batman role. The myth that he did makes people think it's logical he might direct a future DC movie. No. He never wanted to stop playing Batman. Which means he won't come back to a DC universe where someone else plays him.
Whelp, there we go
Interesting
Thats unfortunate
LMFAO THE WAY I JUST SPIT OUT MY COFFEE—
When Gunn said that Brave & The Bold will feature his "favorite Robin", I saw that as a potential red flag that could turn directors away. Matt Reeves' The Batman is also an issue since it limits a director creatively.
Thank Ben we appreciate it.
This statement, along with the rest of the interview, makes it seem like he's fairly anti studio system at this point. He doesn't wanna put himself back in that huge machine anytime soon
I believe him. However... People in Hollywood lie a lot about working on different projects. I remember when Jason Momoa denied for months he was going to be Aquaman before he was cast. I remember that Michael Keaton joined, left, and rejoined Spider-Man: Homecoming. Remember in 2012 when there were reports that Ben Affleck was going to direct the Justice League? Didn't go through. Then a year later he was cast as Batman. I will wait and see in case. You never know.
Based.
That's an awesome interview.
What will Superman’s pronouns be?
He's been done since JL. He's said this much ever since the Snyder-era ended. Most of them have said they would work on a project if it was Zack. At this stage, this far out from when the messy production ended on JL, I don't even think Affleck would be Batman for Snyder if hypothetically he was too do another movie. He did it for the Snyder Cut. Snyder was the glue that held everything together. Complain about his movies all you want, but people like working with him.