It's been over a year since Ben Affleck announced that he was stepping away from Matt Reeves’ stand-alone superhero movie, The Batman. And now, all eyes now on Robert Pattinson as the actor takes the mantle as Bruce Wayne for the upcoming film. However, there was a time a few years ago when Ben Affleck was going to produce, direct, write, and star in a Batman movie.
During the promotions of Affleck latest flick The Way Back, the actor opened up about the future of the Caped Crusader and revealing some new details about his exit. During an interview with Jake Hamilton, Affleck said this of Pattinson taking over the role: "I think Robert's a great actor, he's going to do great."
He also revealed that he did not want to pursue the movie because he did not want to risk alcoholism again. “I showed somebody the Batman script. 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.’”
Affleck's personal struggles over the last few years have been well documented, including multiple relapses while battling alcoholism and a high profile divorce from Jennifer Garner.
Affleck’s next movie is sports drama The Way Back, which follows a downtrodden man’s recovery from alcoholism as he coaches his alma mater’s high school basketball team. “I’ve never been very risk-averse — for better or worse, obviously,” said Affleck. “Regarding The Way Back, the benefits, to me, far outweighed the risks. I found it very therapeutic.”