Ben Affleck’s 1 Movie Was Not ‘Executed Properly,’ Leaving Him Utterly Disappointed
Hearing “superhero” and “Ben Affleck” in the same sentence will bring to mind images of the Caped Crusader, Batman. But there was a time when Affleck slipped on the mask of another costumed crimefighter. Affleck was the first actor to portray Daredevil in a big-budget production. The film wasn’t well-received critically, and Affleck wasn’t particularly happy with the experience. Let’s take a look back at Affleck’s career, his role as Daredevil, and why he wasn’t felt it wasn’t “executed properly.”
Ben Affleck’s is a Hollywood icon
Affleck first rose to fame as the writer and co-star of Good Will Hunting. While Matt Damon, his co-writer on the project, was the star of the film, Affleck received rave reviews for playing Damon’s best friend Chuckie in the film.
The duo won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and their careers were launched. Since then, Affleck has starred in multiple films. He’s also had success behind the camera as well, directing acclaimed films such as Gone Baby Gone, Argo, and The Town.
Most recently, he portrayed billionaire Bruce Wayne, better known as the superhero Batman. Affleck played him in the DC Expanded Universe.
While some fans liked Affleck’s portrayal, it appears as though he’s been replaced by Robert Pattinson who’s set to star as the Dark Knight in 2022’s The Batman. While Pattinson’s take on the character won’t appear as part of the DCEU, it looks as though Affleck’s run with the character is at an end.
Ben Affleck as Daredevil
In the early 2000s, Affleck was one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. He had yet to sully his reputation with bombs like Gigli and Jersey Girl.
This was also before the superhero boom brought on by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Affleck was cast as the superhero Daredevil for the 2003 film about the character.
The film featured Michael Clarke Duncan as Daredevil’s archenemy Kingpin. It also starred Jennifer Garner as Daredevil’s love interest Elektra and Colin Farrell as frequent Daredevil foe Bullseye. Future MCU director and The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau was cast as Matt Murdock’s best friend Foggy Nelson.
On a budget of about $78 million according to IMDB, it made around $102 million domestically and $179 million worldwide. Compared to many other superhero films, the film’s box office performance was rather modest. It’s hard to call it a flop, but it was hardly a hit. It did lead to a spinoff focusing on Garner as Elektra.
Why Ben Affleck felt ‘Daredevil’ was not ‘executed properly’
Overall, Affleck has had more hits in his career than misses, and his resurgence over the past decade as an effective director and writer have solidified him even more as a creative force to be reckoned with in cinema. That said, it’s hard to see his time as Daredevil as anything but a misstep. Affleck himself even realized the missed opportunity.
According to Business Insider, Affleck said he regretted the experience:
“Indeed I have regrets about ‘Daredevil.’ I have regrets about all the movies that I don’t think were executed properly…Look, if I thought we were remaking ‘Daredevil,’ I’d be out there picketing myself. And that goes for other movies as well that I haven’t been happy with…I’m hard on myself and I have exacting standards and I want to do excellent work and I don’t always succeed, but I think you have to start out with that drive.”
It sounds like Affleck’s heart wasn’t in the role. The character has been done justice, however: Daredevil fans loved Charlie Cox’s interpretation of Murdock for the popular Netflix series. And Affleck’s career has gone just fine since as well.
