Ben Affleck Says Friends Worried He’d ‘Drink Himself to Death’ If He Didn’t Give Up Batman

Ben Affleck said last year one of the reasons he gave up his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne after two Warner Bros. tentpoles was because he “couldn’t crack” the script for the Caped Crusader’s standalone superhero movie “The Batman.” While that may be true, Affleck gives a far more personal reason for giving up Batman in a New York Times profile that dropped ahead of the theatrical release of the actor’s upcoming drama “The Way Back.” The Times spoke with Affleck about his decision to exit his Batman role and reports that “the troubled shoot for ‘Justice League’ had sapped his interest” in helming a standalone Batman movie.

Affleck starred as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Zack Snyder-directed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” both of which were widely panned by film critics. “Justice League” was also a box office disappointment, grossing just under $250 million in the U.S. Affleck tells The Times his struggles with alcoholism hit hardest between 2015 and 2016, which just so happens to be during the release of “Batman v Superman” and the production of “Justice League.” Affleck said it was a friend of his who put into perspective how dangerous it would be to go through with another superhero tentpole, one in which he would have the added responsibilities of writing and directing.

“I showed somebody ‘The Batman’ script,” Affleck said. “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.’”

Warner Bros. announced January 31, 2019 that Affleck was leaving the Batman role and “War of the Planet of the Apes” helmer Matt Reeves was boarding the project as the new director. Affleck appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” a few weeks later to explain what happened. “I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter but just couldn’t come up with a version,” he said on the show. “I couldn’t crack it and so I thought it’s time for someone else to take a shot at it. They got some really good people so I’m excited.”

Following Affleck’s exit, Reeves and Warner Bros. brought on Robert Pattinson to play Batman/Bruce Wayne. “The Batman” is currently in production and already has a theatrical release date set for June 25, 2021.

Ben Affleck Says Friends Worried He’d ‘Drink Himself to Death’ If He Didn’t Give Up Batman

Ben Affleck said last year one of the reasons he gave up his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne after two Warner Bros. tentpoles was because he “couldn’t crack” the script for the Caped Crusader’s standalone superhero movie “The Batman.” While that may be true, Affleck gives a far more personal reason for giving up Batman in a New York Times profile that dropped ahead of the theatrical release of the actor’s upcoming drama “The Way Back.” The Times spoke with Affleck about his decision to exit his Batman role and reports that “the troubled shoot for ‘Justice League’ had sapped his interest” in helming a standalone Batman movie.

Affleck starred as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Zack Snyder-directed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” both of which were widely panned by film critics. “Justice League” was also a box office disappointment, grossing just under $250 million in the U.S. Affleck tells The Times his struggles with alcoholism hit hardest between 2015 and 2016, which just so happens to be during the release of “Batman v Superman” and the production of “Justice League.” Affleck said it was a friend of his who put into perspective how dangerous it would be to go through with another superhero tentpole, one in which he would have the added responsibilities of writing and directing.

“I showed somebody ‘The Batman’ script,” Affleck said. “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.’”

Warner Bros. announced January 31, 2019 that Affleck was leaving the Batman role and “War of the Planet of the Apes” helmer Matt Reeves was boarding the project as the new director. Affleck appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” a few weeks later to explain what happened. “I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter but just couldn’t come up with a version,” he said on the show. “I couldn’t crack it and so I thought it’s time for someone else to take a shot at it. They got some really good people so I’m excited.”

Following Affleck’s exit, Reeves and Warner Bros. brought on Robert Pattinson to play Batman/Bruce Wayne. “The Batman” is currently in production and already has a theatrical release date set for June 25, 2021.

‘The Batman’ Camera Test Reveals First Glimpse of Robert Pattinson in Batsuit

Director Matt Reeves took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to share a first glimpse at Robert Pattinson in “The Batman.” Though less than a minute long, this moody camera test offers a good glimpse of Pattinson in the batsuit — at least from the waist up. Watch below.

Production on “The Batman” is currently underway, with Warner Bros. releasing the DC Comics-based tentpole on June 25, 2021. In a recent interview, “The Batman” co-star Peter Sarsgaard (in a still-mysterious role) said that Robert Pattinson’s take on the Dark Knight will be “raw” and “not sanitized.” In another interview, Pattinson himself said his Bruce Wayne will be just as “crazy and perverse” as the unhinged characters he typically plays in indie fare, such as David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis,” Claire Denis’ “High Life,” the Safdie Brothers’ “Good Time,” Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse,” and more. This camera test so far, though, reveals a Batman who looks sleek and polished.

The cast for “The Batman” also includes Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Pattinson has reiterated that this version of Batman will not resemble Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, or Michael Keaton in Tim Burton’s “Batman” and “Batman Returns.” (That should mean it’s safe to say he won’t resemble George Clooney or Val Kilmer, either, who starred in Joel Schumacher’s notoriously gonzo “Batman” entries.)

“Out of all the big roles that I knew of in that kind of realm, there was just something about this one,” Pattinson told BBC of Bruce Wayne in “The Batman.”

With Nolan’s “Tenet” and “The Batman,” Pattinson is making his first foray into studio films since the “Twilight” saga wrapped up in 2012. For “The Batman” director Matt Reeves, meanwhile, this is his first directorial project since he helmed “War for the Planet of the Apes,” which released in 2017. With a script from Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, “The Batman” features cinematography from Oscar-nominated DP Greig Fraser, who also shot Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming “Dune,” plus “Lion” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”