We know that Ben Affleck is no longer directing the standalone Batman movie, but would you be surprised to hear that he’s no longer interested in starring in it either? Rumor has it that Ben wants out of his contract with Warner Brothers and wants to ditch his role as Batman. This seems likely because he’s been so noncommittal about it in interviews. Remember how Clooney was Batman for just one movie and couldn’t deal with the pressure around it, basically? Clooney said “There was so much hype around my being Batman and then I nearly killed the franchise and my career along with it.” Is that how Ben feels too? Also, the new director for the Batman movie is Matt Reeves, who also did Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I’m ok with that, I freaking loved that movie. (Ooh the new one is coming out in July, was also directed by Reeves, and it stars Woody Harrelson! Yes I am there.)
Anyway this news about Ben wanting out of the role comes from Collider Movie Talk [via Jezebel, Movieweb]:
“Take this for what it’s worth. This is from a guy who has been burned twice by scoops, so please take this with a massive, massive grain of salt. Over the past four days, I’ve talked to three separate people, who are connected in some way, to what is going on over at Warner Bros. What all three have told me, nothing about whether the script was thrown out or whether they liked the script, nothing about the direction that Matt Reeves is taking it in, nothing about that. What has come out of the conversation with all three was this. They’re telling me that, Ben Affleck, make no mistake, he does want out. He doesn’t want to be Batman anymore. I have been told that Affleck is talking with Warner Bros. in an attempt to get out of being Batman. If they do not let him out of being Batman, that the stand alone Batman film that ultimately happens, will be the last time we see Affleck as Batman, because he apparently wants out.”
This whole superhero gig was out of character for Affleck in the first place. I thought he would learn his lesson from Daredevil but it’s like he wanted to keep revisiting the same ground and conquer it this time. That’s Affleck’s issue in a nutshell. He did Live By Night and was openly offended that all anyone wanted to talk about on his press tour was Batman. Does he blame the solo Batman movie for the failure of Live By Night, because it pulled focus and/or he couldn’t put his full effort into it? I’m really interested in seeing where he goes with his career because he was on track to be a leading director until he decided to try being a superhero again. There’s no shame in specializing in one area, he’s one of the most successful people in show business but he’s always chasing something. I guess that explains his success too. He’s the phoenix rising from his own bad choices.
Update: I just thought of another reason Ben might not want to be Batman anymore. He may have seen the incredible Lego Batman movie (I saw it this weekend and couldn’t stop laughing) and realized there was no way a solo Batman movie could live up to that. I’m not even joking.
Note: The title does not say “Ben Affieck” that’s just a weird thing that the new fonts do when an l comes after an f. Photos credit: WENN, FameFlynet, Pacific Coast News, Warner Brothers
I think he just wanted to be a part of a successful franchise, and be the new Christian Bale-esque Batman, but it’s not working, so he wants to ditch it. Unlike other main actors (of heroes) in DCEU, he has a shining career outside of this, so he does not want to be associated with critical failure anymore.
not sure about a shining career outside tho.
I’d say he has flops, like every actor, but in general he is a continuously busy A-lister with many awards and he can always point at Argo if people doubt him. If Batman fail becomes bigger news story than Argo success, then he’ll have to talk about that one too. I don’t think it’d hurt his career in any way, but it would annoy him to no end.
It’s doing ok. People still like Ben and he’s a great director.
He’s reached A lister for life status now. Flops are to be expected along the way but he will always be able to pull together funding for mid-sized films he wants to direct.
Not surprised he was pants!!!
Huh????
It was a baaaaaaaad movie. I honestly thought that poor Batfleck and poor Amy Adams were by far the best thing in the movie. And that glass lake house… I would take two hours of ‘Batfleck shopping for real estate with Lois’ as the next Batman movie over anything made by Snyder.
God answers prayer it seems.
I wasn’t a fan of his batman and I begged for someone to make it stop…I didn’t think the someone would be him.
I think Christian Bale had a film or two left in him . I mentally wrote a script for Batman (Bale) where the villain was a young woman inspired by Carey’s Riddler but far darker and more sinister. Jimm Carey would make an appearance from behind bars at Arkham Asylum, showing how much he has aged and all will be revealed that he has been coaching her from the inside for years etc.
No thanks. Enough with the female characters who have to be mentored into their position by the actual bad ass aka a man. We already had that mess with Harley Quinn in SS.
In my mind she is far more badass than Carey’s character but i get your point
I loved Ben’s Batman. I hope this rumor isn’t true.
I loved his Batman, too!! I thought he was the only good part of Batman v Superman!!
Don’t blame him, but he should never taken the role in the 1st place.
Yes! They (Ben and DC) should have actually listened to fans when they announced this and everyone was like #notmyBatman.
I honestly think this current DC franchise will either collapse or undergo top to bottom overhaul after Justice League. Affleck probably knows this.
I wish he’d stop acting. he’s a decent to good director, though. as long as he stops casting himself in his own movies.
I really enjoyed him in The Accountant.
I thought The Accountant was directed by someone else? Still enjoyed it though!
Me too.
Collider is one of the most reliable outlets on the comic franchises, so I believe this completely. The question is why. Two options. Either he is suffering a crisis of confidence since the recent flops both from himself and the DC franchises OR he is unsettled by early studio meddling and is leveraging for less studio tinkering. It could be even be both.
I’m honestly worried about DCEU. I keep hoping and hoping and I get disappointed. I could see your second option being correct, and WB really shouldn’t interfere much because they’re just not good at doing this. I really hope it’s him being tired of it, not him knowing WB will screw up again.
This would be one of the best decisions for him. It’s so weird to me that he’s batman. Just doesn’t work.
I think he has been sick of it for a while. I think he can’t take the public hits. I think originally he got caught up in the bigness and movie stardom of it all. In the end, BVS was panned, though it did make money. LBN sank – that was the movie he really wanted to make – and all anyone wanted to talk about was batman. It will be interesting to see if he can actually extricate himself and what his next movie moves will be.
Affleck annoys the bejesus out of me. Also he should know that you never follow the legend (Chris Bale) you follow the guy who follows the legend.
I think he’s getting more and more disappointed by the way WB is handling the franchise and how they wouldn’t remove the Snyders from helming all the DC universe and basically destroying it. I’m sure if he had guaranteed final cut and complete control over the Batman movies at least he could have pulled it off, but Zach and Co. are too intrusive and want to control everything. They still don’t understand that no good movie comes without a good script and a good director with full control of their movie.
Can you blame him? The DCEU is a complete and utter mess and WB are totally clueless. They should just cancel the whole thing, get rid or Snyder, and wait a few years for a reboot.
It was a weird choice for him. If you’re already an established actor, you likely do superhero or Star Wars or Harry Potter movies for two reasons: money and/or name recognition. Money is always nice. The name recognition is key. Everyone (even small roles) in these movies gets a boost because with the general public it goes from “who?” to “oh that’s the guy who was in…”. Just that little bit gives you a boost over your competition and helps with investors.
But Affleck didn’t need either!
So he was doing it for ego or art…and this satisfied neither. I’m not surprised he’s unhappy.
I think there’s a third reason: prestige. It used to be mocked to be in a superhero or fantasy film, let alone franchise, but the times have changed. LOTR, Harry Potter and even Marvel are cultural phenomenas and if WB got their act together, DCEU would be too.
I’m not sure “prestige” is the right word. That’s for a Daniel Day Lewis, or a Denzel Washington (when he’s not doing dumb action movies). They have prestige. No one is going to call Chris Pratt or Emma Watson prestigious actors. I’d say the genre movies give actors…recognition? A certain freedom to do prestige projects afterwards? Trust me though, the superhero/Harry Potter/Star Wars crew would trade their People’s Choice Awards for an Oscar in a microsecond!!
I agree prestige might not be the best word, but I can’t find a better one to describe what I meant. Recognition is not what I had in mind. Unknown actors seek recognition, major A-listers do not. Will Smith most certainly did not need Suicide Squad to gain recognition or money, but he signed up anyways.
And I don’t think these genres would trade their PCA for an Oscar. They understand fully well what they are and their profit – unlike that of most Oscar movies – goes into billions. That award is not the first thing on their minds.
Not to mention the genre isn’t even that overlooked anymore. LOTR won a bunch of Oscars, the 3rd one even for best film. And Harry Potter was a British project with most of their best actors present. It was an honor to be in it.
Yeah I can’t really think of the right word for it! On the Oscar thing I mean from a prestige standpoint if we were looking at that. If you were looking for prestige how actors define it, you’re not getting it from a superhero movie (with the very limited exception of Nolan’s Dark Knight. That was a big anomaly.) I’m not saying that’s always right, but it’s true.
Maybe bankability is the word? I think it increases your bankability.
Nah, not that either, because I wasn’t looking at it from getting money or furthering their career standpoint. More like this is the new cool thing and they want to be a part of it, and because franchises ATM sell better than actors themselves and they don’t want to be left behind. Not to be more bankable, but just to stay relevant. Oh, yeah, perhaps relevance is a better word!
maybe he’s looking for a more solid ground for his return to the top.
having the bourne franchise did wonder for his friend matt damon and his steady longevity in A+ list status.
I think he wanted the kind of adoration, recognition and paycheck that RDJ gets. But the first Iron Man was a good movie, with a good director and a good script. And Jeff Bridges. – You don’t get that with Snyder and WB…
You guys are overthinking it. He wanted to become the biggest and most respected movie star in the world. Since he can’t act worth a damn, he’s limited to movies where he emotes nothing while running around with weapons. He thought Batman would have the sort of prestige that he needed but he failed to realize that the prestige factor of The Dark Knight trilogy began and ended with Christopher Nolan, and he and Snyder put together aren’t even a tenth of the class of Nolan.
He is perfectly OK in the right role. Not a huge range that’s for sure, but quite a few stars haven’t been particularly good actors, and vice versa.
Let us be honest. His take on Batman was better than Christian Bale’s. Yep, even with the lousy script. We are just too stubborn to admit because B v S was a bad movie. I enjoyed his performance and you did too.
In what way was he better than Christian Bale as Batman? Just curious because I hear people say that but they never explain why.
As stated in the article “He’s the Phoenix rising from his own bad choices.” Watching Affleck go through life is half fascinitationg and half horrifying. He’s on top of the world one minute then makes very questionable decisions that indeed fail then gets rather pissy about how life’s going then sets out to prove himself again.
His life could be so easy.
Gwyneth Paltrow once said Ben makes life difficult for himself, and Jen said in her VF profile that he’s complicated. He is the architect of his own disasters, that is the meaning behind his back tat, he see’s himself as constantly rising above it all, the pain, the failures, the mistakes, but he needs to understand he’s doing it to himself, classic addictive personality. God help his new girlfriend….
people kill to get the chances he has in life!
he ‘s really self destructive.Better actors and directors have lost everything for 1/1000 of this…
i wish i had the affleck bros luck…they could destroy half the humanity and stay on top
He doesn’t come from a particularly affluent background so to a large extent he’s made his own luck, starting with Good Will Hunting. He’s a talented guy. That doesn’t negate self destructive tendencies, but no one handed him what he’s got.
LOL! Both of his parents come from affluent backgrounds. His father even inherited a little money but pissed it away on booze. Ben’s godfather is best friends with Terrence Malick. He and Damon even got to meet with Malick, who read the Good Will Hunting script and suggested the ending for it. So this business of not coming from money, being self-made and having no connections? False and a total media manipulation, just like everything else with Ben Affleck and his life.
Ben and Casey come from upper reaches of the upper middle class, both their parents. Their mom in particular is from a well-off WASP-Y fam, she’s Radcliffe educated and taught at Spence (Paltrow’s alma mater). I think Dad also came from New England money. Both parents got caught up in the counter-culture during the 60s/early 70s and lived sparingly. As noted their Dad had substance problems which caused financial and personal trouble. .
Ben’s godfather was an obscure academic, we’re not talking Spielberg here. His mother taught at the Brearley School for one year, not Spence. Ben grew up in a very ordinary house, attended public school, and his mother was a public school teacher and single parent. His father was a drunk who did not contribute financially.
@A It doesn’t matter who his godfather was. Getting a meeting with Malick is special and it’s a connection. How many other screenwriters get advice from Malick? “His father was a drunk who did not contribute financially.” As for how much his father did or didn’t financially contribute, there is no way that you could possibly know that.
Casey Affleck has said their father drank his wages as soon as he earned them, could not hold a job, and that his mother worked long hours support the family.
The script had been bought by castle rock and was in active development when they met with Malick, so it’s not that unusual. They got notes from lots of other well-known people too, and without any personal connections.
My point is Ben didn’t grow up in Hollywood circles nor did he have the lifestyle of someone in the upper middle class as a child.
“As noted their Dad had substance problems which caused financial and personal trouble.”
Jesus. _Another_ self-destructive white-guy-with-privilege with daddy issues out-the-door?!?! So sick of these guys who throw away chance after chance other, more talented people deserve.
Alcoholism in a parent generally damages kids. Irrespective of their colour. There is some evidence that there is a genetic component to it. Even where there isn’t, it is a nasty experience. Ben has been extremely successful by most people’s standards. So he hasn’t thrown away all those chances. Like many of us, he presumably continues to feel the impact of childhood experiences, for good and for ill. I’m not sure why the vitriol is needed on these threads.
annetommy , it is his entitlement which amazes us.
he doesn’t even have to be good, he s white hetero man and originally an handsome one.with good connections and power.
but he keeps making bad choices and being forgiven :he never has to pay for his errors in everything to the point it’s becoming ridiculous.
he ‘s always whining it’s not his fault
his brother is the favorite for an oscar with serious and dreadful harrasment case , whereas nate parker is legitimately destroyed.
and you should educate your colorblindness: being poc in today world is already being exposed to racism in every aspect of your life without pause or rehab for your abusers. alcoholic parent would be one more devilish awful problem.
color will determine so much from birth ,it makes your ‘irrespective’ wrong.
Alcoholism is damaging for everyone. It may be compounded by racism. But even by itself, it’s damaging to the drinker and their family. I don’t know Ben Affleck, and neither do any of the people on here who appear to detest him. All I know is that I am not prepared to condemn someone who is struggling with an alcohol addiction. His brother is not his responsibility btw.
The Afflecks had the lifestyle of the affluent who live in Cambridge, MA , to be specific. Not flashy at all, liberal and very spare – but make no mistake comfortable. I’ve no doubt Mom Affleck struggled at times as a single mom with two boys, but had her very wealthy parents to fall back on. Her stepfather, Sam Shaw, was an influential NYC attorney, Ben & Casey spent much time with him. Ben named his son after him. Ben’s dad and family attended Brown over the generations and have been major past donors.
I agree this of course has little to do with the damage of paternal alcoholism, which is harmful no matter what social strata a person is born to.
I thought he was fantastic as Batman!!!
OK, then we all agree.
Will Arnett for Batman!
Or Kevin Conroy.
Actually, I liked Batfleck, but the DC movies are so full of suck, I can’t blame him for wanting to back out. If Wonder Woman is as awesome as I hope it is, he might be convinced to stay.
i prefer brandon routh.it would a reparation he has beeen stolen
Unfortunately for both Ben and WB they can’t wait for the critical and box office results of WW or JL to decide whether to proceed or not, WB wants to film soon to meet an imaginary deadline, if both films fail critically and don’t meet box office expectations then the pressure for Batman to save DECU will be tremendous. If LBN wasn’t such a massive failure, Ben would have directed, no doubt, but it’s failure casted a doubt in WB execs and with Ben himself, the guys gonna jump off a cliff if Batman fails.
He is such a whiny baby, easily one of the worst in the industry. I hope Warner Bros sticks it to him. He’s part of the reason all of this is such a mess, not part of the solution.
He was pretty much the only bright spot in BvS so not sure how he’s responsible for the mess.
His obvious substance abuse continues to be a problem. That and the fact that he can’t keep it together long enough to work through a franchise. I knew his drunk ass wouldn’t be able to handle it and he would fall apart, lol. He’s a walking disaster. It’s amazing that he was able to complete JL, not surprised at all that his future movies are up in the air. So yeah, I agree with BW. He’s part of the problem with these movies, what with all this behind the scenes BS. If WB had a strong, capable, intelligent man in writing and directing the Batman, it wouldn’t be an issue. They don’t. They had Ben Affleck.
I think that’s unnecessarily harsh Chris. And he is at least trying to do something about what you term his drunk ass. Many alcoholics never get that far. I wish him well.
What’s he “trying to do” about his alcoholism? He was seen drinking as recently as the Golden Globes.
And he has been in rehab. several times. Drinking doesn’t mean you aren’t trying to do something about it. Most addicts slip back at some stage. It doesn’t mean you should write them off as not trying. Unless you have no empathy for that struggle.
“And he has been in rehab. several times.” He’s been to rehab once that we know of, 15 years ago.
contrary to less fortunate alcoholics he has the means to cure himself and stay away with a supporting ex wife and children,until he is ok.
he is jeopardizing all the franchise with his pride and irresponsability.
My last comment on Ben Affleck since I am not his stan. He would appear to be still trying to do something about his problem: a sober companion type person was flagged as a girlfriend recently. But I don’t know him, just as no one on this site knows him. What I do know is that attitudes to alcoholism that I thought and hoped had faded away are still very much present on this thread. “He has the means to cure himself”? There is no cure. There is abstention. I hope he manages that.
i m so sorry you ‘re being so nice to him,when he doesnt deserve any of it.
he can retire for few months or years, he can take care of himself if there is no cure,a luxury lot of ill people can only dream of.
all this circus is no unnecessary,he ridiculises himself and maybe future jobs are lost in the way .
for now he refuses to do it because his power,status etc. allow him to be unreasonable.
Still no word from People about what’s going on with Ben. He did a workshop on charity work with students at his children’s elementary school, and his mother is visiting from Boston. He’s keeping a really low profile paparazzi-wise.
“Still no word from People”… are you expecting some kind of daily update on his life from a tabloid or something? And if he isn’t getting papped it’s because he doesn’t live where they think he lives anymore, and they can’t find him.
He does not do the school run anymore-or so it seems – the photogs generally camp out there. He in general seems to be able to avoid the paps better. Seems the whole family was at a charity marathon last Sunday – he was able to avoid being photographed.
@Jenfan – Did someone online mention that he was there? I assumed he wasn’t because Jennifer oftens hangs out with her mother-in-law without Ben. She had a security person with her and usually doesn’t when Ben’s around.
He wasn’t at the charity run.
The paps aren’t allowed to camp out at schools. They know where Jen and the kids live, and they follow them coming off of their road. That’s why they get her going everywhere. They’ve even got videos of her and friends walking/working out on their street. That’s where they sit lol
@A there is a website for the run with results. Ben was registered, has a start time the same as the rest of the family. He does not have a finish time. Jen’s bff Nicole is also registered (with her girls), with same start time and no finish time. So I don’t think it’s a case of registered and did not show up. Of course I was not there and did not see him – but that is my guess based on the evidence.
If he had been there he would have been photographed. To suggest that he was somehow missed is absurd. The photogs followed them for what appears to be a long time. They get pics of the family dog but not him? Not possible. As for him having a start time, his mother was there and wearing a huge race t-shirt that was probably meant for him. She probably walked a bit of the race.
There is no reasoning with Jenfan. Just let it go.
@jessie – that actually makes a lot of sense
@moana – no reason to be nasty.
Of course, someone on DM is pointing out the recent BI about a couple that broke up and is reuniting and might now attend the Oscars together. Refers to the guy having had health issues that broke them up. The DM commenter thinks it’s obviously Ben and Jen, but I think it very obviously isn’t. It refers to a “young” couple with no reference to having been married – seems obvious that it’s Emma and Andrew.
No matter how lauded or successful Ben needs to always be reaching for things he can’t get, or finds difficult to get. It’s a form of masochism I think, goes hand in hand with his substance and gambling problems and other general issues. He can never let himself be happy or satisfied with anything.
I think he’s fallen off the wagon again recently with the stress and disappointment of Live By Night (we know he was experiencing issues when he split from Jen) and finally perhaps Jen, his fam and maybe his team have convinced him to push back and let go; the apparent wish to leave Batman may be part of this. At his age he can’t keep going through this endless rinse/wash/repeat cycle of up-climb/downfall/self-abuse and reversal anymore. Too much for anyone and he’s not getting younger.
He could have a great career as an acclaimed writer-director and do this until he’s elderly, while taking solid character acting roles where he can shine such as Gone Girl (stop trying to be a leading man). That’s a varied career 99% of his peers would kill to have, covering most creative areas in his business.
i think you re too kind ,no masochism ,he always put his own best interest first,even before family: a+ list status,(false) good reputation, booze and easy girls…
he wants it all but without sacrifice and failure.he’s just delusionnal with an ableist entourage.
I think he already pulled out. No pun intended.
I go along with the idea that he saw the Lego Batman movie, and realized he could never live up to those expressive Lego faces and Will Arnett’s voice! LOVED the Lego Batman movie, btw!!!
Why do they keep making these films? Who are those people that actually watch them? I’m genuinely puzzled. I only liked Batman when it knew it was super campy (Val Kilmer, Jack Nicholson, Jim Carey etc) and not trying to be taken seriously (Chris Bale and Chris Nolan). It’s like the Bond films; they were only good when it was Roger Moore being ironic about it all.