Ben Affleck Opens Up About Alcohol Struggle and His Decision to Leave The Batman

DC Extended Universe star Ben Affleck has come out with the truth behind his decision to leave Matt Reeve's The Batman.

While DC fans came to enjoy Affleck's take on the Dark Knight after his appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the actor seemed to have trouble deciding whether or not he wanted to stay as Bruce Wayne. There were reports that the DC actor would continue with the role even after Justice League. There were reports that he would leave.

Affleck was initially set to take on DC's standalone Batman movie, however, the Oscar-winning writer and director of Argo decided against the project, saying that he wanted to focus on acting. Then, a few months after that, Affleck quit the project altogether.

Speaking in an interview with The New York Times, Affleck opens up about his issues with The Batman project. While the script was pretty good, Affleck was told that he might fall into his drinking habit again.

"I showed somebody ‘The Batman' script," the DC star recalled, "They said, ‘I think the script is good. I also think you'll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again.'"

The article details Affleck's struggle with alcohol and with his compulsive behavior. The DC star admits to the vicious cycle that had been eating at him and how it's affected his life and his projects.

"I drank relatively normally for a long time. What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems," the actor admitted.

Affleck would have probably gone on to star in The Batman had he been in a better place, but it seems like the actor was still struggling at the time. Now, Matt Reeves is moving on with the project together with Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight.

The Batman is set to premiere on June 25, 2021.

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