Ben Affleck has opened up about one of the most difficult periods of his Hollywood career, revealing just how deeply the troubled production of ‘Justice League’ affected him. The actor, who played Batman in the DCU, has described the film’s reshoots as the “low point of my career” while criticizing the circumstances surrounding Zack Snyder’s departure.
Affleck’s latest comments also shed light on the tension between filmmakers and studio executives, a conflict that became a defining part of the 2017 superhero movie’s troubled history.
Ben Affleck Criticizes How Zack Snyder Was Replaced on ‘Justice League’
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Affleck did not hold back when discussing Snyder’s exit from ‘Justice League’ following the death of his daughter, Autumn Snyder, by suicide in 2017. Joss Whedon subsequently took over the film’s reshoots, with significant changes made to the theatrical version.
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Affleck expressed his anger over how the situation unfolded. “The way in which that was, I thought, used as an excuse to replace Zack with Joss Whedon was one of the sh*ttiest things I’ve ever seen. It was so gross.”
The actor also recalled hearing troubling accounts of the atmosphere on set during the reshoots. While Snyder stepped away during a deeply personal tragedy, Whedon was brought in to complete the film, leaving the eventual theatrical release caught between two distinct creative visions.
The Snyder Cut Gave Affleck Something To Celebrate
Affleck’s criticism also comes with a clear lesson about what happens when a studio and a filmmaker stop working toward the same goal. “I saw how not to make a movie like that, which is where the studio is at odds with the filmmaker,” he explained. “You are really making a mistake.”
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For Affleck, Snyder’s eventual opportunity to release his original vision was a welcome development. The four-hour ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ debuted on HBO Max in 2021, giving fans a substantially different version of the superhero team-up.
Affleck expressed his happiness over the release. “I was really glad and gratified that Zack got to release his version via the Snyder Cut. That was f*cking great. I was really happy for him.” For fans who spent years campaigning for the Snyder Cut, his comments offer another reminder of why the film’s troubled production remains such a significant chapter in DC movie history.
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