Ben Affleck gets real about the poor conditions surrounding the Justice League movie reshoots run by director Joss Whedon. The actor talked in depth about how the situation personally impacted him. 2017’s Justice League was released in theaters as a very different movie than the one Zack Snyder, the film’s original director, had intended to make. Due to a number of factors, Snyder exited his role as Justice League‘s director, with Warner Bros. tapping Avengers director Joss Whedon to take over reshoots for the movie. The film’s controversies would only spiral from there.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck opened up about his negative experience during Justice League‘s reshoots. Affleck’s Batman movie plans fell through after the actor had what he described as “the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences.” According to Affleck, the experience was so negative that it bled into his personal life, with the actor choosing “to drink too much” because it was the only way to cope, other than to “jump out the window” of his hotel room. Since then, Affleck has gotten better, and returns this year as Batman in The Flash. Check out the full quote below:
I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, “I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.” That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart. There was an idea of someone [Joss Whedon] coming in, like, “I’ll rescue you and we’ll do 60 days of shooting and I’ll write a whole thing around what you have. I’ve got the secret.” And it wasn’t the secret. That was hard. And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, “This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.”
How DC Has Changed Since The Ill-Received Justice League?
Warner Bros. and DC Studios have gone into a new direction with the hopes of having the new DCU end the Snyderverse for good, leaving any baggage from that era of DC movies in the past, and allowing for the emergent DC Universe to flourish. After the underperformance of Justice League at the worldwide box office, the former DCEU went into disarray, with the studio having no clear direction for the universe. The iconic DC character that is Superman was left in the sidelines, with Henry Cavill having no idea of where he stood as the Man of Steel.
After returning as Superman in 2022’s Black Adam for a post-credits scene, Cavill discovered two months later that he was out again. Cavill wasn’t fired from Superman, he just did not have his contract renewed with DC Studios. The recently founded DC Studios is spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran, who hope to have the DC Universe become a cohesive shared universe, in the vein of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that honors the original adventures of DC’s characters from the comic books. The duo has an 8 to 10 year plan for the DC Universe.
That plan revealed its first 10 projects in January with a formal announcement made by Gunn. The DC executive talked about what projects would start the DC Universe “Chapter One.” Gunn announced Elseworlds movies, or films not designed to be canon, are going to be a facet of the new DC Studios. The Batman universe by Matt Reeves fits that description. With new projects for characters such as Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman, the emergent DC Universe is ready to forget the failed Justice League movie.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter