Ben Affleck Once Shared His Thoughts on Directing a Superman Movie
Ben Affleck has been attached to several superhero projects from Daredevil to Batman. But before his turn as the caped crusader, there was speculation that Affleck was considered for directing a Superman film.
Ben Affleck on whether or not he considered directing a Superman movie
Affleck experienced a gradual career resurgence throughout the late 2000s and 2010s. His career took a hit in the early-to-mid 2000s after starring in a couple of under-performing projects in a row. His relationship with Jennifer Lopez at the time also attracted controversy during the boom of the tabloid era back then. Afterwards, Affleck took a brief hiatus from the limelight to regroup, and ended up revitalizing his career as a director.
He gained immediate favor as a filmmaker with his career comeback Gone Baby Gone, and continued this success with The Town. After proving himself as a director, there was speculation that Affleck was going to helm a Superman project. But Affleck addressed those rumors in a resurfaced interview with Deadline, where he felt a Superman project was better off in someone else’s hands.
“The one benefit of having done all kinds of movies as an actor is, you learn the pros and cons of being tempted to do a really big movie because it costs a lot of money. With Superman, I think they’re going to do a great version. Chris Nolan is brilliant and they’ve got a great director for it,” he said.
Affleck had his sights set on directing a large-scale, big-budget project eventually.
“I’ve love to do something like Blade Runner, but a lesson I’ve learned is to not look at movies based on budget, how much they’ll spend on effects, or where they will shoot. Story is what’s important. Also, there are a lot of guys ahead of me on the list to do epic effects movies,” he said.
Why Ben Affleck walked away from directing his Batman movie
Affleck would later become involved in a Superman project years down the line when he played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He’d also reprise the role in Justice League and The Flash. At one point, it seemed likely that he’d end up directing his own Batman movie. In a 2016 interview with USA Today, Affleck revealed that Man of Steel director Zack Snyder might have inspired him to do so.
“I’ll just say going through the process, I would never have imagined that I could or would direct a movie like this,” Affleck said. “And in working with [Zack Snyder] and seeing what he did and watching him every day, I got really inspired by that and by seeing the scope on which he was telling the story, by seeing what he was able to do with this kind of mythic story on a grand scale.”
But later, Affleck shared that he just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to direct a Batman feature.
“I looked at it and thought, ‘I’m not going to be happy doing this. The person who does this should love it.’ You’re supposed to always want these things, and I probably would have loved doing it at 32 or something. But it was the point where I started to realize it’s not worth it. It’s just a wonderful benefit of reorienting and recalibrating your priorities that once it started being more about the experience, I felt more at ease,” he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Ben Affleck doesn’t see himself directing anymore superhero movies in James Gunn’s new DCU
Audiences might have seen Affleck as Batman for the last time in The Flash. Still, some wondered if Affleck would’ve been interested in directing another superhero project for Gunn’s new DCU films. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck addressed the inquiry.
“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 said.
