Ben Affleck Says Working On Joss Whedon’s Justice League Was Awful
Ben Affleck had some pointed words about what it was like working on Justice League with Joss Whedon. It's not a total surprise.
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Ben Affleck has been making some media rounds of late and really opening up about things from his past, both on the personal side and the professional side as well. In some ways, it’s a refreshing take from a celebrity, admitting things that had gone wrong before and areas where he might have contributed to the problem. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times (via Collider), Affleck did discuss some about his time in the DC Extended Universe, and what it was like shooting with Joss Whedon in Justice League. About this, Ben Affleck didn’t mince his words at all.
In speaking about this time, Ben Affleck told the Times that, “It just was the worst experience. It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this…” By “this” Affleck is referring to acting in general, but also playing the role of Batman over the last six or so years. Citing issues on the set, Affleck summed up how basically from top to bottom, the time on Justice League was a less-than-optimal experience. This was a trying time for the actor besides what was just going on within the DC Universe. Ben Affleck was in the middle of a high-profile divorce with Jennifer Garner, a topic that he’s talked more candidly about recently.
And in addition to that, there was the filming of Justice League which certainly had its issues and tragedy. Director Zack Snyder’s daughter died while the movie was filming, leaving the studio to place someone else in charge of finishing the production. That ended up being Joss Whedon who allegedly was at odds with more than one cast member during the time he was at the helm. The final product with Ben Affleck and company ended up being significantly divergent from Snyder’s original vision, necessitating the director’s cut which was released last year.
Of course, it wasn’t like Ben Affleck had a smooth sailing time as Batman from the beginning either. Some of this stems from well before when Joss Whedon took over. There was a significant backlash when he was first cast in the part for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice something the actor admits to being confused about at the time. A not-insignificant percentage of the DC fanbase wasn’t into this move from the jump and it clearly affected the way Affleck saw the character. It’s a shame how many things piled up to go wrong with these films, Justice League in particular and it’s easy to see why Affleck wouldn’t look back on the time fondly.
For his part, Ben Affleck is still set to get into the cape and cowl at least one more time. He’s making an appearance in The Flash which is due out sometime next year. That film will reportedly be Affleck’s last turn as the character in the DC Universe, though the studio has stopped short of saying they are going to kill him off. If anything, there could just be a shift away from his universe and into another. We know they are dealing with the DC version of the Multiverse and Michael Keaton will also be here reprising his role of Bruce Wayne in another reality.
While much has been made of Ben Affleck as Batman, he’s likely gotten a bit of the short shrift when it comes to what he actually did on the big screen as the character. All things considered, he was fine in the role with the major issues around the movies just having to do more with the scripts and tumultuous nature of the productions.
