George Clooney Warned Ben Affleck To Not Play Batman

After the failure of Batman & Robin, George Clooney shared in a recent interview he advised Ben Affleck to not play the Dark Knight in the Zack Snyder film.

Batman & Robin has aged as one of the biggest missteps in comic book movie history. Due to its failure critically and financially, the film put the character on a hiatus until Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins reinvigorated the franchise. Shortly after The Dark Knight Trilogy ended, Warner Bros. was quick to reboot the character with Ben Affleck donning the cape and cowl. After two films and a cameo, Ben Affleck’s Batman days are now over as director Matt Reeves looks to cast a new young actor in the role. Not unlike Ben Affleck, George Clooney’s career took a bit of a hit after staring in unsuccessful Batman films. George Clooney regrets playing the Dark Knight and spoke about what he learned from the experience with The Hollywood Reporter recently:

“[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! 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.”

When Ben Affleck was originally cast in the role, the response was notoriously divisive. George Clooney worked with Ben Affleck on Argo and said he advised him to not take on the role:

“I actually did talk to him about it. I said, ‘Don’t do it.’ It was only from my experience, which is, you know. He did great, though.”

Do you think George Clooney would play a better Batman today? Sound off in the comments below!

Plot details for The Batman are currently under wraps, though the film will center around a younger Bruce Wayne and includes multiple villains. Matt Reeves also confirmed that it will not be directly based on Frank Miller’s Year One comic and will use of the Dark Knight’s detective skills to a greater extent than previous DC Films.

Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the film and all of Warner Bros. upcoming DC Films and television projects!

The Batman will be released in theaters on June 25, 2021.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter