Ben Affleck is set to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman for an appearance in The Flash, but the actor recently confirmed that this will definitely be his final time suiting-up as the Dark Knight. The Tender Bar star hung up the cape and cowl shortly after the release of Justice League, and has now revealed that Matt Damon was influential in his decision to step away from the character.
Affleck elaborated on his negative experience filming Justice League while being interviewed by Damon for an EW piece, and reminded his Good Will Hunting co-star and long-time friend that speaking to him ultimately helped inform his decision to move on to other projects.
"I didn't like being there. I didn't think it was interesting. And then some really shitty things, awful things happened. But, that's when I was like, I'm not going to do that anymore."
"In fact, I talked to you about it and you were a principal influence on that decision," Affleck continued. "I want to do the things that would bring me joy. Then we went and did Last Duel and I had fun every day on this movie. I wasn't the star, I wasn't likable. I was a villain. I wasn't all the things I thought I was supposed to be when I started out and yet it was a wonderful experience. And it was all just stuff that came along that I wasn't chasing."
The Last Duel did not do very well at the box office, but did perform a lot better on streaming, and Affleck believes smaller, lower budget films may not have a very bright future when it comes to theatrical runs.
"I think movies in theaters are going to become more expensive, event-ized," he added. "They're mostly going to be for younger people, and mostly about 'Hey, I'm so into the Marvel Universe, I can't wait to see what happens next.' And there'll be 40 movies a year theatrically, probably, all IP, sequel, animated."
Affleck has previously stated that IP films no longer interest him, and these latest comments only further hammer home his desire to leave the world of big, blockbuster movies behind. So, don't expect him to show up in the MCU anytime soon!