The Real Reason Ben Affleck Didn’t Reprise His Role As Batman
Batman has always been a character with his own demons. After losing his parents Bruce Wayne tends to look at life in a dark and cynical way. It turns out Ben Affleck had some demons of his own that led to him leaving the role of the Caped Crusader behind.
A few years back we got to see Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight in the DC Extended Universe films Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice as well as Justice League, and despite what critics may have said about it… they were quite enjoyable.
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After the release of these movies, Affleck was set to star in, write and direct the independent Batman film aptly titled: The Batman but to the dismay of a lot of fans Affleck let go of the project after the Justice League, claiming that the troubled production ‘sapped his interest’. As you can clearly see in the interviews following the release Batman V Superman which inspired the viral “Sad Affleck” memes.
More under this adMore under this adSlowly following these years playing Batman, Affleck fell back into alcoholism in part dealing with the disappointment that was the critical reviews of his films we imagine. In an interview with the New York Times Ben stated:
More under this adMore under this ad“I showed somebody The Batman script, they said, ‘I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again.’”
The production issues aside, Affleck was also dealing with the even more devastating situation that was his slowly decaying marriage with actor Jennifer Garner and was using alcohol as a coping mechanism, however, not surprisingly the drinking also led to more marital troubles which unfortunately led towards the end of his marriage, which he stated was: "The biggest regret of my life". They had been married for 12 years.
More under this adMore under this adAffleck ended up doing stints in rehab in 2017 and 2018 but has appeared to bounce back, starring in the upcoming film The Way Back. A film about a struggling alcoholic. Which evidently he was able to relate to, stating:
“The benefits, to me, far outweighed the risks. I found it very therapeutic.”
It seems Ben is in a better space this year and we’re excited to see all he has to offer with the numerous other projects he’s said to be attached too including ‘The Last Duel’ which he is co-writing alongside Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener. This is the first screenplay he’s written with Damon since ‘Good Will Hunting’.
We hope 2020 is a big year for Ben and we're looking forward to seeing more of him.