Ben Affleck Doesn't Want to Work For James Gunn - Inside the Magic

Ben Affleck, one of the many actors who has portrayed the Dark Knight, says he’s “not interested” in directing any films for the new James Gunn DC universe.

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While fans may know him as Batfleck, the actor-director considers himself to be a serious filmmaker. The man has won two Oscars, after all. One for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997), which he co-wrote with friend Matt Damon; he also scored a Best Picture Oscar for Argo  (2013), which he directed. In addition, his directing in The Town (2010) helped Jeremy Renner land his second Oscar nomination.

With such pristine credits as these and ignoring all his flops, Affleck’s talents are not to be taken lightly. Furthermore, the Air (2023) director doesn’t think his style of filmmaking would work with a big superhero blockbuster. When The Hollywood Reporter asked if he was interested in directing a DC film for Gunn, Affleck responded, “I would not direct something for the Gunn DC. Absolutely not.”

Affleck went on to say he has no issues with Gunn, but rather he “just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that.”

Affleck could be referring to the conflict that most stylistic directors struggle with when they are given a comic book franchise to lead. A superhero movie would have a different tone compared to the films Affleck has directed in the past. Perhaps his creative choices would be held back, or his vision wouldn’t match what audiences want to see. A dilemma that most directors face.

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Luckily for Gunn, his style of directing has matched perfectly with the movies he’s been granted to make. Gunn has a long list of work that fans would consider “fun movies,” going all the way back to his 2006 horror film Slither. Affleck, on the other hand, while he has starred in action blockbusters before, prefers to go more toward the drama and crime style of storytelling.

Before the DC Universe began to crumble, Affleck was in talks with Warner Brothers to direct and star in his own Batman movie. It was Affleck himself who decided to drop out of that project, for better or worse. So fans will unfortunately never get to see what an Affleck-Dark Knight movie would look like.

Fans will be able to see Ben Affleck portray Batman once more in The Flash later this summer. And his next directorial outing will be Air, hitting theaters April 5, 2023.

Would you have wanted to see a Batfleck-directed Batman movie? Let Inside The Magic know in the comments.