Ben Affleck made his debut as the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, before going on to reprise the role in Justice League (the theatrical version and Snyder's director's cut) and The Flash.
The actor has spoken about the ups and downs of his tenure as the Caped Crusader in the past, but has said that he did enjoy his time in the "SnyderVerse" overall. There was one thing he "hated" about playing the iconic DC Comics character, however.
“I hated the Batsuits. The Batsuits are horrendous to wear,” Affleck told GQ in a recent interview. “They’re hot for one thing. They don’t breathe. They’re made to look the way they want them to look. There’s no thought put into the human being. So what happens is that you just start sweating. I’m already — I sweat, you know what I mean? So in that thing, you’d just be pouring water.”
“It just made it difficult to make the movie, because you’re so hot. It also does not make you feel very heroic, because you’re instantly exhausted and really sweaty,” Affleck continued, chuckling. “Maybe Christian [Bale] or Rob [Pattinson], guys like that, were just better at dealing with it.”
Affleck has previously opened up about his decision to leave the role of Bruce Wayne behind, and while it sounds like the pressures of filming Justice League and the backlash the movie received did play a big part, he also had a far more serious reason for passing on directing and starring in the movie that would ultimately become The Batman.
During a 2020 interview, Affleck spoke candidly about his struggles with alcoholism when his marriage to Jennifer Garner ended, and his attempts to get sober and get his career back on track after Justice League. As we know, the actor had signed on to helm the solo Batman film and reprise the role of The Dark Knight, but after showing the script to a friend, he received a big wake-up call.
“I showed somebody The Batman script,” Affleck recalled. “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.”
Hearing something like that would be enough to make anyone stop and take stock of their career (and life), and it's hardy surprising that Affleck ultimately stepped away from the project and the character.
Matt Reeves' film obviously utilized an all-new script, so we may never find out what Affleck's version of The Batman would have looked like. We have heard a few details over the years, but The Accountant 2 star has always been hesitant to reveal too much about it.