Ben Affleck became meme-famous (it’s a thing) thanks to his “Sad Affleck” moment during a press interview for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fans seized upon the moment to draw all kinds of conclusions about Affleck’s unhappiness with the film’s reception, but in a recent interview, it seems that Affleck has gained a lot more perspective on the matter.
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In Empire magazine’s big feature on Justice League (via Screen Rant) Affleck addressed the Batman v Superman backlash, saying that he understands why some of it happened:
“I can understand people saying [Batman v Superman] was too dark, or this was outside the tone of what I’m used to seeing with a Batman story, and I think that’s a fair criticism.”
Affleck also made sure to differentiate what’s coming with Justice League form what happened with Batman v Superman, saying: “Zack wanted to make a movie that was more fun, that was a little bit light, that wasn’t so encumbered with heavy melodrama.”
Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot backed up Affleck’s assessment, saying, “Justice League is not a dark or heavy movie. It doesn’t have the weight Batman v Superman had.”
The stars of Justice League have been towing the company hard as of late, with all of them echoing the sentiment that this film will be a departure from the previous tone of the DC Films Universe – and that was the plan all along.
Flash actor Ezra Miller recently made the case that Snyder had always planned for DC Films to go from a darker to lighter place in Justice League. Affleck says much the same thing, with the added caveat that Batman v Superman backlash didn’t change things:
“…this was all scripted and set up before that movie came out. The approach was changed anyway for the second one. It was natural progression.”
Justice League will be in theaters on November 17th.
