Ben Affleck Teases Batman’s Role in Justice League

Trying to kill your coworker may make things awkward at work, but it seems as though Batman and Superman have moved past all of that. The upcoming film Justice League will unite Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash to battle an yet unknown threat to Earth. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice pitted a brooding Bruce Wayne against the Kryptonian who he believed to be too dangerous to live, and the battle came to blows, but ultimately, the two (with Wonder Woman’s help) ended up on the same side by the end of the film, only to have Superman make the ultimate sacrifice. 

Ben Affleck told EW that he took a new approach to Batman in Justice League. Affleck said that the Batman you’ll see in Justice League will show a Bruce Wayne that audiences are more familiar with. “BvS departed a little bit from the traditional Batman. He started out with all this rage directed at Superman, because of his coworkers who had died in the fight Superman had with Zod. He was holding on to a lot of anger, in a little bit of an irrational way,” Affleck said.

He went on to describe how his character has evolved and the major role he’ll be playing in gathering the troops. “[T]his is a much more traditional Batman. He’s heroic. He does things in his own way, but he wants to save people, help people…this is more in keeping with the canon of how Batman’s usually been portrayed, and how he’s portrayed vis a vis the Justice League in the comics. This is more the Batman you would find if you opened up your average Batman comic book…not that it’s average. I think it’s a really cool story.”

It sounds like Batman has a difficult task at hand. As the old saying goes, bringing five superpowered personalities together can be like eating a bowl of Krypton for breakfast. OK, maybe no one ever said that, but Affleck does make it sound like he’s got his work cut out for him. “He’s put in this position of having to reach out, find other people, convincing them to do something. Part of the drama of the movie is the question of whether or not the team is going to come together. It’s very different from the tenor of the last movie…actually, it’s sort of a story about multilateralism. It’s not a bad theme to have!”

Other changes are making an influence on the DC universe. Fans were finally, gloriously, introduced to Wonder Woman this year, and she is a real powerhouse. It’s going to be really awesome to see what the badass Amazonian brings to the team. Also, Joss Whedon (Avengers) is crossing comic universes to collaborate with director Zack Snyder (300) on the film, after Snyder had to step aside due to a family tragedy. No doubt Whedon did his absolute best to see Snyder’s vision through. 

The Justice League unites on November 17. 

Featured image: (L-R)  BEN AFFLECK as Batman, GAL GADOT as Wonder Woman, RAY FISHER as Cyborg, EZRA MILLER as The Flash and JASON MOMOA as Aquaman in Warner Bros. Pictures¿ action adventure JUSTICE LEAGUE, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Clay Enos / TM & (c) DC Comics

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelle Long

Kelle has written about film and TV for The Credits since 2016. Follow her on Twitter @molaitdc for interviews with really cool film and TV artists and only occasional outbursts about Broadway, tennis, and country music. Please no talking or texting during the movie. Unless it is a musical, then sing along loudly.