Ben Affleck ‘Not Interested’ in Superhero Genre, Calls Playing Batman ‘Excruciating’

Ben Affleck is leaving the Batman mask and cloak behind for good. In a cover story interview with GQ, the actor called playing Bruce Wayne for 2017’s Justice League an “excruciating experience” and said he had no interest in the superhero genre at all.

“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,” Affleck told the publication. “But 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,” he added.

Affleck admitted that he was coming onto set — which starred Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Henry Cavill as Superman — with a poor attitude. “I wasn’t bringing a lot of positive energy to the equation. I didn’t cause problems, but I came in and I did my job and I went home. But you’ve got to do a little bit better than that,” he said, later admitting that he preferred directing over acting.

Affleck has been open about how much he did not enjoy the experience of starring in Justice League, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2022 that it was the “worst experience,” citing the changing directors, delays, and budget issues with the film.

During his GQ interview, he also addressed his separation from Jennifer Lopez, saying “there’s no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue” behind their split. “The truth is, when you talk to somebody, ‘Hey, what happened?’ Well, there is no, ‘This is what happened,’” he said. “It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do.”

From Rolling Stone US.