George Clooney Tried to Talk Ben Affleck Out of Playing Batman

George Clooney is considered to be one of the most successful actors of his generation, not only because of his talents on camera, but also based on the decisions he has made about which creative projects to pursue. Keeping in line with my superstar trajectories, one step along the way included playing Batman in Batman & Robin, which the actor has admitted was a low point in his career. The experience left such a negative impact on the actor that, when he heard Ben Affleck was in the running to play the Caped Crusader, he attempted to prevent Affleck from taking the role.

“I actually did talk to him about it. I said, ‘Don’t do it,’” Clooney shared with The Hollywood Reporter when discussing Affleck accepting the role. “It was only from my experience, which is, you know.”

Affleck debuted as Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film which became a major financial success but was largely panned by critics. Interestingly, while much of the film was slammed, a prevailing positive element that many reviews pointed out was Affleck’s take on Bruce Wayne. Clooney shared these thoughts on the performance.

“He did great, though,” the actor noted.

Despite Clooney not looking fondly on his experience as the DC Comics character, he did admit that it played a pivotal role in his career’s future.

“[Arnold] Schwarzenegger was paid, I think, $25 million for that, which was like 20 times more than I was paid for it — and, you know, we never even worked together!” Clooney pointed out. “We worked together one day. But I took all the heat … Now, fair deal: I was playing Batman and I wasn’t good in it, and it wasn’t a good film. But what I learned from that failure was, I had to rethink how I was working. Because now I wasn’t just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself.”

After months of rumors about his disinterest in reprising his role as Batman, Affleck officially confirmed that he was stepping away from the shared universe earlier this year.

The Batman is slated to hit theaters on June 25, 2021.

Do you wish Affleck continued the role? Let us know in the comments below!

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