Ben Affleck Reveals Why He Scrapped THE BATMAN, Turned Down STAR WARS, and Addresses a DAREDEVIL Return

Ben Affleck had plans to make his own Batman movie, but his experience on Justice League was so miserable that he ultimately decided to walk away.

Now, the actor and filmmaker has opened up about what convinced him to abandon The Batman and whether Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has approached him about returning as Daredevil.

Affleck played the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, and at one point, he was set to direct and star in a standalone Batman movie.

The story would have pitted Bruce Wayne against Deathstroke, with much of the action reportedly taking place inside Arkham Asylum. It sounded like a pretty awesome Batman movie, but obviously it never got off the ground.

During a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Affleck addressed an old rumor that he had been considered to direct Man of Steel before Zack Snyder took the job. He also explained why he decided against directing his own Batman film.

"No, I did not meet with them about [Man of Steel]," Affleck confirmed. "I was considering at a time directing a standalone Batman movie after that and did not feel like ultimately I wanted to do that. But no, I didn't. And there haven't been too many movies that I turned down."

Interestingly, one of those movies was Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Affleck revealed that he was offered the opportunity to direct the film, but even as a fan of the franchise, he knew it wasn't the right project for him.

"I'm not the person to direct this movie." He explained why taking on something as massive as Star Wars didn't appeal to him. "That's not like some great self-sacrificing thing because I thought I didn't know that I could make a great version of Star Wars or reinvent it.

“A lot of the challenges to reinvent that you've seen play out. It hasn't been easy for them to reinvent that franchise. Some have done really well, [but] you've got this whole fan base that's got its own very strong opinions."

As for why his Batman movie fell apart, Affleck pointed directly to his awful experience making Justice League. Between personal struggles, the tragedy surrounding the production, and the creative conflicts between the studio and filmmakers, the whole thing left him with little interest in jumping back into that world.

"The truth is that the experience of Justice League for me was so, so negative for lots of different reasons. Some of which had to do with where I was personally, and some of which had to do with some of the tragedy that happened during that time. And also the fact that I really saw how not to make a movie like that, which is when the studio is at odds with the filmmaker."

Affleck was particularly frustrated by how Snyder was treated during the production and the extensive reshoots that followed his departure. While he was happy Snyder eventually got to release his version of the film, Affleck considers the original experience the lowest point of his career.

"That was what really doomed that. I was really glad and gratified that Zack got to release, and he did it in a very kind of canny way, manipulated his way into getting his thing released, which was f***ing great, and I was really happy for him. Boy, that was shitty that him being taken off that movie and the reshoots that we did. That's the low, if you want the low point of my career, was that."

It's easy to understand why he wasn't interested in directing another DC superhero movie after dealing with all of that. Still, it's a shame we never got to see his Batman take on Deathstroke in Arkham Asylum. That could have made for one hell of a movie.

Of course, Batman isn't the only superhero Affleck has played. Long before he joined the DC Universe, he starred as Matt Murdock in 2003's Daredevil.

With Marvel Studios bringing back familiar faces through its multiverse stories, fans have wondered whether Affleck might get another shot at playing the Man Without Fear. His version of Daredevil even appeared in concept art for Deadpool & Wolverine, and a possible appearance in Avengers: Secret Wars has been a popular topic of speculation.

So, has Feige actually called him about returning to the MCU? "He hasn't. I wish he would. I just feel that I've kind of done my superhero movies, and I don't know that there's anything left for me that's particularly interesting for me to do."

While that doesn't sound particularly promising for a Daredevil comeback, Affleck did have some great things to say about Feige and his understanding of comic book audiences.

"But I will say that of all the producers in the world who have pretended to kind of know what the audience wants, the only guy I would ever believe is Kevin Feige."

That's quite a compliment, especially coming from someone who experienced firsthand how badly things can go when a studio and its filmmakers aren't on the same page.

For now, Affleck appears content to leave his superhero days behind. Robert Pattinson has taken over as Batman in Matt Reeves' films, while DC Studios continues developing The Brave and the Bold as part of its new DC Universe.

I'd still love to see Affleck get one more shot at Daredevil, even if it's just a brief appearance in Avengers: Secret Wars. But the Batman movie he never got to make is probably the bigger missed opportunity.