While promoting the extended release of his Oscar-winning ARGO, Ben Affleck sat down with EW and discussed everything from working on David Fincher’s GONE GIRL to the Whitey Bulger biopic and, of course, the topic of BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. When asked what it was like to wear the batsuit for the first time, Affleck deflected the question and segued into a commentary on working with director Zack Snyder and how important his role is in making the film work.
Well, I don’t want to get too far afield and I’m sure I’ll have time to talk about Batman down the road. What I’ll say is that I really like Zack. From what I’ve seen of what’s Zack is doing, it’s made me very excited. One of the nice things about being an actor in that movie is they show you all the stuff before anyone else gets to see it. So all the sort of world-creation, and the take on the character and the other characters is really exciting. And at the end of the day, the truth is it’s really directors that make movies work or not — especially these kinds of movies, where it’s about the whole world, and a rising tide lifts all ships. And if it all has integrity, if it all has a sense of realism, then it works. And if it doesn’t, than it doesn’t really matter what everyone’s doing [on the screen] because they just look like a bunch of Mexican wrestlers in suits.
Affleck was also asked about the harsh reaction from a lot of folks (particularly the Internet) when the announcement was made that he would be taking on the mantle of the Batman.
No. I mean, that’s the sort of great and terrible thing about this business. Each project is kind of in its own silo, you know what I mean? You do something, it works, people say it works. And if the next one doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t. You don’t get to start ahead because you did well last time. Without getting into the vagaries of the internet and who’s sort of out there being vocal about it, at the end of the day, when you get into the arena of those kinds of movies, these superhero movies, particularly ones that are working with characters that everyone’s known for so long, everybody’s got these strongly held opinions and preconceived ideas about what it should be. I totally understand and recognize that. At the same time, I don’t think projections about something that hasn’t happened yet are all that meaningful. I think at the end of the day, it’s like any other movie or project: You go out and make it great, people will say it’s great. If you go out and miss, you’ll hear about it. The stuff beforehand is kind of just the noise that happens.
Some pretty seasoned responses from Affleck and what I’d expect from someone who has played the game as long as he has. Of course, everyone is playing the hush-hush game for now, which is expected, and I think Affleck comes off as poised about the general nature of comic book films and what makes them work. After DAREDEVIL he certainly knows what makes them NOT work.
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN hits theaters on July 17, 2015.