Ben Affleck Spills The Unexpected Reason He Will Never Play Batman Again In The DCU

In the DCEU, Ben Affleck portrayed Batman from 2016 to 2023, debuting in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and reprising the role in Suicide Squad, Justice League, and the Zack Snyder's Justice League cut. Now, new comments from Ben Affleck on his time as Batman shed light on why he'll probably never return.

His time as "Batfleck" was divisive, much like most of the DCEU era, coming to an end in 2023's flop The Flash, which the actor said was "the most fun [he] had playing" Batman.

Ben Affleck Won't Play Batman Again Because It Scares His Son

Ben Affleck recently opened up to GQ about his challenging experience playing Batman, sharing that the character's darker tone ultimately alienated a key audience, including his own son. 

It was surprising to hear about this experience with his son, as the actor had never revealed until now that even his own "own son at the time was too scared to watch the movie" due to its more mature tone:

"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 the movie. And so when I saw that I was like, 'Oh shit, we have a problem.'"

When discussing his lack of interest in super superhero movies, Affleck shared that the process of playing Batman was at times "a really excruciating experience:"

"There are a number of reasons why that was a really excruciating experience. 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."

This isn't as much of a shock as the actor had previously told the LA Times in 2022 that working on Justice League as Batman was "just was the worst experience."

Now adding on the effect of his own personal struggles at the time, creative differences, not even his son could enjoy his time as Batman, which typically is a reason for actors with kids to make comic book movies.

Affleck acknowledged to GQ that the "misalignment" of creative visions between the filmmakers and the fact that he "wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either:"

"I certainly wouldn’t want to replicate an experience like that. A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations. And also by the way, I wasn’t bringing anything particularly wonderful to that equation at the time, either. I had my own failings, significant failings, in that process and at that time."

These recent comments cast even more doubt on his potential return to DC, if they were ever to come knocking again.

The Future of Ben Affleck's Batman

Based on all of Ben Affleck's recent public comments about his time as Batman, it seems like he will never return to the character. Overall, it seems like he looks back on the experience as overall negative, with lessons to be learned for his future endeavours and performances.

This may come as upsetting news for many fans of "Batfleck" and this Zack Snyder era of DC Films. However, it seems DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn is moving forward with a new Batman actor while also helping Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise, starring Robert Pattinson.

Several actors have been circling the Batman gig, including Alan Ritchson, Jensen Ackles, and even Jake Gyllenhaal. There's also been a lot of fan-casting buzz surrounding Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us, 1923) taking over the mantle in The Brave and The Bold.

With a second Batman soon joining the DCU family, it seems like Affleck's time is truly over, with little hope of a return anytime soon.

The only hope for Affleck, similar to Chris Evans returning for Avengers 5, is another multiverse-style film (which DC has plenty of comics to choose from), bringing back his version of the Dark Knight.