In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ben Affleck, former Batman actor, described working on Justice League (2017) as “the worst experience.” Affleck joins many of his co-stars who have already talked about their poor experiences shooting the movie, particularly during Joss Whedon’s reshoots.
When asked about his decision to “recalibrate” his priorities to value the experience of making a project over the acclaim he might receive from it, and ultimately being happier for it, Affleck said this: “It was really Justice League that was the nadir for me. That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy [Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in 2017] and the reshooting. It just was the worst experience. It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’'
The original cut of Justice League, delivered by script co-writer and Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon after director Zack Snyder had to drop the project due to personal tragedy, bombed at the box office, losing Warner Bros $60 million. But, Affleck added, “It’s not even about, like, Justice League was so bad. Because it could have been anything.” Even if Justice League had been a success, his previous comments on working with Joss Whedon and playing Batman indicate Affleck would still have marked the shoot as a negative experience.
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Other stars of Justice League have been critical of their experience on the movie, particularly when it comes to Joss Whedon’s behavior. Ray Fisher, who portrays Cyborg in the DC Universe, has repeatedly accused Whedon of racist and inappropriate behavior on the film set and in post-production. He also claims several WarnerMedia executives enabled the abuse to continue. After launching an investigation into the matter, WarnerMedia announced "remedial action" would be taken. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot said of working with Whedon “I was shocked by the way that he spoke to me.” However, in her experience after reporting the abuse, “the heads of Warner Bros, they took care of it.”
Reporter Josh Rottenberg, who covers the film industry beat for the newspaper, also asked Affleck about his decision to drop out of directing and starring in The Batman while seeking treatment for alcohol addiction. Reflecting on his decision to quit the role and prioritize different projects, the 49-year-old actor said, “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.”
The next film adventure for the Dark Knight, The Batman, is set to release March 4, 2022 with Robert Pattinson in the title role and Matt Reeves directing.
Source: Los Angeles Times