Ben Affleck Discusses Playing Batman and Relationship With Wonder Woman in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Warner Bros. released a bunch of new images from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice today, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. Included were plenty of quotes from the film’s cast and director Zack Snyder, taken from EW’s set visit last year. In this round-up, Batman actor Ben Affleck talks about his role in the movie.

Affleck is only one of many actors who have donned the Batman suit, and he acknowledges this tradition. “Batman is basically the American version of Hamlet. We accept that he’s played by actors with different interpretations.” But there is at least one characteristic that will set his Batman about from others: his will be more “tired” and weary. “He’s at the end of his run and maybe the end of his life. There’s this sort of world-weariness to it.”

This Batman, influenced by The Dark Knight Returns, has good reason to be tired. According to EW, Bruce Wayne has been fighting crime in Gotham as the Batman for twenty years when we meet him. That is two decades’ worth of a crusade. Meawhile, Wayne – who is expected to be in his mid-40s in this film – has grey temples, and Wayne Manor is now a weeded desolation due to years of neglect.

Affleck goes on to rehash his distaste of the last time he played a superhero in 2003’s Daredevil. However, he realizes that the comic book movie genre has significantly improved since then (Marvel Studios’ success, Fox’s X-Men franchise reaching new heights, and of course, the DC movie universe). Thus, he is optimistic about playing Batman. “They really learned how to make this stuff work. Good is the new bad.”

Talk then turned to the above image from Batman v Superman, which sees Wayne meeting Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman). In this scene, the two alter egos at a high-society function. However, despite their being in their civilian identities, it sounds like they will know about each other’s more heroic lives. “I love the fact that there was this Thomas Crowne Affair, Bond-y sexy scene that they wrote about two people who are pretending to be two different people who each know the secrets of the other person,” says Affleck. Did Batman and Wonder Woman know each other before the events of the film? We’ll have to wait and see.

Finally, Affleck comments on the grittier atmosphere of Gotham in Dawn of Justice, which serves as an alternative to Marvel Studios’ more lighthearted adventures. “It means that when it was supposed to look rainy and miserable, it had to be rainy and miserable. The long dark night of the soul and whatnot.” There will particularly be a lot of rain during Batman’s brawl with Superman.

For even more on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, be sure to buy this week’s edition of Entertainment Weekly.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to hit theaters March 25th, 2016. The second installment in the DC Cinematic Universe stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. Zack Snyder directs from a script by Chris Terrio and David S Goyer.