Ben Affleck appeared on the latest episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and called the “Justice League” reshoots “a low point in my career.”
Warner Bros. infamously replaced director Zack Snyder with Joss Whedon to revamp the film after Snyder had to take a hiatus from work due to the death of his daughter. Snyder said in a recent interview with Variety that Whedon’s reshoots covered 60 new pages of material. The final product was a critical and commercial misfire for Warner Bros. Whedon was later accused by “Justice League” actor Gal Gadot of threatening her on set, which he denied.
“The ‘Justice League’ experience was so negative for many different reasons, some of which had to do with where I was at personally and some of which had to do with the tragedy that happened at that time,” Affleck said. “I’ve seen how not to make a movie like that, and that’s where the studio is at odds with the filmmaker. You’re really making a mistake. I was really happy and satisfied that Zack was able to get (his version out via the Snyder Cut).
“One person’s death by suicide overshadows everything,” Affleck continued, referring to the death of Snyder’s daughter. “The way it was, I thought, used as an excuse (to replace Zack) was one of the shittiest things I’ve ever seen. It was so disgusting. The whole environment and vibe (on set during reshoots), which I wasn’t aware of but had heard from the actors, it was just, ‘Wow, this is about as disgusting as it gets.’ “And I drank too much…and I got divorced. It was a difficult time for me personally, but those things, while painful, did not impact this film.
Affleck previously told Entertainment Weekly that creating “Justice League” was “a nadir experience” that made him not want to continue playing Batman. The actor added at the time: “I didn’t like being there. I didn’t think it was interesting. And then some really shitty things, horrible things happened. But that’s when I was like, I’m not going to do this anymore.”
Elsewhere during his “Happy Sad Confused” interview, Affleck confirmed that Lucasfilm had approached him to direct “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Affleck isn’t sure if that means he was the studio’s first choice or if they were also talking to a possible choice, JJ Abrams.
“I talked to these people at the time, and that’s when I was like, again, I was like, ‘Hey, I love ‘Star Wars’ and I’m a fan, but I’m not the person to direct this movie,'” Affleck said of the “Star Wars” rejection.
“I just think someone else who has more passion for it will do a better job. There are a lot of challenges in reinventing this,” Affleck continued. “You actually saw it unfold. It wasn’t easy for them to reinvent this franchise. Some were very successful, some – and you have this whole fan base that has their own very strong opinions… I just thought, ‘You know what? That would be – I don’t think I could do it as well as anyone else, and I don’t want to make something that I don’t feel like I have a chance to be really, really proud of.’
Watch Affleck’s full interview on “Happy Sad Confused” below.
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