Ben Affleck says he had a much better time working on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Zack Snyder than on Justice League. Affleck and Snyder’s days of working within the DC Extended Universe are over, and their limited time together cut short what Snyder had planned. After playing Daredevil several years before, Affleck only returned to superhero movies to work with Snyder and bring his vision for an aged Batman to the big screen.

Affleck made his debut in 2016’s Batman v Superman, which was planned by Snyder to be the second film in his five-part DC story that began in Man of Steel. Although both movies received mixed reactions, Affleck’s portrayal of Batman was a highlight and made audiences excited for him to write, direct, and star in The Batman. However, following the tumultuous production on Justice League and Affleck’s addiction issues, he walked away from the cowl.

With his new film The Way Back out in theaters, Affleck sat down with GQ’s Youtube channel for a career retrospective. This included discussing his days as Batman. The video features Affleck talking highly of Snyder and how his pitch for Batman is what made him interested in the role in the first place. After elaborating on what drew him to the role, he further illustrated the different feelings he had about Batman v Superman and Justice League.

This feeling from Affleck is not one that will come as a surprise to many. After Snyder was mostly able to make Batman v Superman how he wanted (although he did trim down the original 3-hour runtime), Justice League brought many changes to his vision. The lighter tone and condensed story didn’t just affect the movie as a whole, but also Affleck’s version of Batman specifically. Once Snyder left the project and Affleck had to return for Joss Whedon’s reshoots, the character Affleck and Snyder created was almost impossible to recognize.

The spirit of that as a guy who’s vulnerable, as a guy who aches when he gets up in the morning, as a guy who feels a lot of pyschological torment I thought was a really interesting approach to playing a hero. And that was what we wanted to do. I had a better time on Batman v Superman, which I really enjoyed doing, and Justice League was unfortunately touched by some personal tragedy and death in Zack’s family. Like I say, sometimes things work and gel and sometimes you seem to be just having one problem after another.

Even though Affleck says his days as Batman are behind him, the video interview shows that there is still a part of him that is excited by Snyder’s Frank Miller-inspired Batman. Affleck has even joined in support of the Snyder Cut being released. With Snyder teasing that Affleck’s Batman could be needed to film additional scenes to complete the Snyder Cut, perhaps Affleck could still play Batman one more time to help redeem his Justice League experience. But with so many obstacles in the way of that happening, this is just wishful thinking for now.

MORE: Is Zack Snyder’s Justice League Really Done If He Wants To Shoot More Scenes?

Source: GQ via YouTube

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