James Gunn tweeted in December that he had met with Ben Affleck to discuss the possibility of him directing a new DC movie, but that doesn’t appear to be happening on any level. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter as part of a wide-ranging interview that touches upon everything from his new movie Air to memes, Affleck, 50, mentioned that, while he has nothing against the filmmaker, would never direct a DC movie for Gunn, explaining that he’s simply not interested. Elsewhere in the interview, Affleck touched upon his experience with making Justice League, the original version of which wasn’t entirely fun for him to make but now represents his highest-rated movie on iMDB ever with the release of Zack Snyder’s definitive version. His loyalties appear to be remain with Snyder, who Warner Bros. kicked out despite delivering what fans say was an exciting universe, headlined by his Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Justice League … You could teach a seminar on all the reasons why this is how not to do it. Ranging from production to bad decisions to horrible personal tragedy, and just ending with the most monstrous taste in my mouth. The genius, and the silver lining, is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and was like, “Look, I can get you four hours of content.” And it’s principally just all the slow motion that he shot in black-and-white. And one day of shooting with me and him. He was like, “Do you want to come shoot in my backyard?” I was like, “I think there are unions, Zack. I think we have to make a deal.” But I went and did it. And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb.
Isn’t that because Zack Snyder’s fans are so intense online?
Say what you want, it is my highest-rated career movie. I’ve never had one that went from nadir to pinnacle. Retroactively, it’s a hit. All of a sudden I was getting congratulated for the bomb I’m in. But I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, “I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.” That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart. There was an idea of someone [Joss Whedon] coming in, like, “I’ll rescue you and we’ll do 60 days of shooting and I’ll write a whole thing around what you have. I’ve got the secret.” And it wasn’t the secret. That was hard. And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, “This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.” You want to go to work and find something interesting to hang onto, rather than just wearing a rubber suit, and most of it you’re just standing against the computer screen going, “If this nuclear waste gets loose, we’ll …” That’s fine. I don’t condescend to that or put it down, but I got to a point where I found it creatively not satisfying. Also just, you’re sweaty and exhausted. And I thought, “I don’t want to participate in this in any way. And I don’t want to squander any more of my life, of which I have a limited amount.”
So if DC came to you now and said, “Do you want to direct something?”
I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC. Absolutely not. I have nothing against James Gunn. Nice guy, sure he’s going to do a great job. I just wouldn’t want to go in and direct in the way they’re doing that. I’m not interested in that.
Met with Ben yesterday precisely because he wants to direct & we want him to direct; we just have to find the right project. https://t.co/Haz1APdlVN
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022