LOS ANGELES, March 10 (UPI) — As the release date for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice nears, star Ben Affleck talks about his take on the iconic Batman character.
“Initially I took the idea of doing Batman in the abstract,” the actor explained to Entertainment Weekly Wednesday.
“I was sort of uncertain about it. I went in and looked at Zack’s long-term worldview and the take he had on this character. It’s within the kind of canon of Batman, and the part of the Batman canon that he chose and the way that he saw taking it long-term, that was interesting to me,” he continued about director Zack Snyder’s vision for the character past Dawn of Justice in future sequels like Justice League: Part One, which begins production in April.
“And the partner that he chose in telling this story is Chris Terrio. Chris Terrio wrote not only this movie, but he wrote Justice League, and he also helped the long-term vision,” Affleck added of his Oscar-winning Argo collaborator.
Affleck is the latest actor to don the black cape and cowl most recently following Christian Bale who appeared as Batman in director Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy. Bale recently stated he was disappointed with his performance admitting, “I didn’t quite nail it.”
When asked what he bring to the character, Affleck noted, “What I wanted was to create a Batman that was sort of at the end of his rope physically and psychologically and emotionally, a guy who was beaten down by the world.”
“A guy who was a little bit more of a slugger, who has more gray in his hair, and who was questioning whether the whole journey that he lived as Batman was in fact even worth it, given that he was not superhero, but now had to face a super-being, which none of the other Batman’s had to confront in the movie world.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, opens in theaters March 25.
The film, which depicts an epic confrontation between Batman and Superman (Henry Cavill), also features Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), setting the stage for Justice League: Part One, due in theaters Nov. 17, 2017.
Affleck also gave an update on Warner Bros. planned Batman solo film that the 43-year-old might direct. “There’s definitely willingness and a will and a desire to make a Batman movie on the part of Warner Brothers. It’s in development, and right now I’m really focused on finishing Live By Night,” he said.
“That’s where my focus is, and I tend to be a one movie at a time guy. So, when I’m finished with this movie, I’ll then focus on my next movie and figure out what that will be.”
