Ben Affleck Didn't Hold Back His Thoughts On Zack Snyder's Justice League Firing

The DC Extended Universe was doomed the moment Warner Bros. hit the panic button after "Man of Steel" fell well short of the $1 billion worldwide threshold that the Marvel Cinematic Universe broke with "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3." Now that audiences aren't rushing out to see every MCU entry, James Gunn's 2025's "Superman" is considered a hit, even though its $619 million global tally came in under the $670 million hauled in by Snyder's film. But the DCEU braintrust wanted to fast-track a "Justice League" movie to compete with "The Avengers," even though zero groundwork had been laid (as opposed to the MCU's patient four-year "Avengers Initiative" development).

The result was "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," which explored the "Death of Superman" comic storyline while cramming in underwhelming introductions of Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg. Though the film grossed $874 million, it failed to generate genuine excitement for "Justice League," which received mixed reviews at best while grossing $661 million against a $300 million budget in 2017. The DCEU was suddenly on the ropes, with the movie's behind-the-scenes turmoil dominating the release narrative.

Snyder was dealt a horrible personal blow when his daughter Autumn took her own life during post-production. Joss Whedon was brought on board to finish the film, which necessitated two months of reshoots that contaminated Snyder's vision. Four years later, the director was able to complete his director's cut, which just about everyone agreed was superior to the Frankenstein's monster theatrical cut. But the actors were not happy with how all of this went down. Ben Affleck recently appeared on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast and said the experience of "Justice League" was "about as gross as it gets."

Let there be no doubt that the WB regime that presided over the production of "Justice League" behaved deplorably. The same is true of Joss Whedon, who threatened Gal Gadot's career and treated Ray Fisher horribly. As Affleck told Horowitz:

"The experience of Justice League for me was so, so negative, for lots of different reasons, some of which happened to do with just where I was personally, some of which had to do with the tragedy that happened during that time."

According to Affleck, he "really saw how not to make a movie like that, which is when the studio is at odds with the filmmaker, you're really making a mistake." Affleck also confirmed what /Film had heard at the time of Snyder's removal, which is that WB used Autumn Snyder's suicide as means of installing Whedon (they were upset with the reception of "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and thought "Justice League" was headed in the same direction). Affleck didn't hold back, telling Horowitz:

"[Zack Snyder] being taken off that movie, and the reshoots that we did. If you want the low point of my career, it was that [...] Somebody's death by suicide, that eclipses everything. And the way in which that was, I thought, frankly, used as an excuse, I just thought was one of the sh***iest things I'd ever seen."

Affleck said he was "gratified" that Snyder was able to finish his version (aka "Zack Snyder's Justice League"), and he was able to give his co-star Fisher some love by casting him in his new movie "Animals." The whole "Justice League" fiasco is a sad reminder that studio executives can be cold, cruel operators.