Ben Affleck on Playing ‘Older, More Broken, Kind of F—ed Up Batman’

If you were worried that Ben Affleck was too old to play Batman, you’re not alone. Affleck himself apparently harbored the same fear.

Affleck, 42, told Empire magazine that he initially thought the “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” role wasn’t “the right sort of fit” for him because of his age.

“Then [director Zack Snyder] pitched me his concept for this older, more broken, kind of f—ed up Batman,” Affleck told Empire. “It was something we haven’t seen. We have seen that Batman is willing to cross the line to protect people. That vigilantism has been a part of his character all along, and we are tapping into that mentality when faced by something as potentially as deadly as Superman.”

Snyder told the mag that Affleck’s Dark Knight is 45 or 46 years old, and is “having a crisis of conscience” after donning the cowl for 20 years and losing everyone near and dear to him (possibly including Robin).

“We want to assume that Batman has reached this point in his life and career as a superhero, and Superman represents a sort of philosophical change,” Snyder told Empire. “He is a paradigm shift for Batman: ‘I’ve been fighting criminals all my life, trying to find justice, and now I am confronted with a concept that is transcendent to me.’ In the face of Superman, a man robbing a bank doesn’t matter.”

Snyder, who said he passed on the opportunity to direct a Batman standalone movie out of respect for Christopher Nolan, revealed that “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” marks the beginning of a storyline that will tie together all DC superhero movies, including “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League.”

“What we are doing is ground up all the way. It is one giant story,” Snyder said. “The first thing we had was the Justice League concept. The other movies, in a way, have to support that. That is our Wonder Woman, our Aquaman. They have their own creative concepts that supports them, but they do serve Justice League in the coming together of those heroes.”

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” hits theaters on March 25, 2016.

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