What Ben Affleck Actually Thinks Of The Term Batfleck

ben affleck as batfleck

Justice League is about to hit theaters, and that means the movie's leads, including the likes of Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa, are out and about promoting the new movie. In a recent interview, Affleck was asked how he feels about the DC moniker he's been given over the past few movies, the now famous Batfleck. Here's what he thinks about the nickname.

It's a sort of common phenomenon that's happened now of like, joining everybody's name. Like it started off just being you know the names of couples, you know Brangelina or whatever. And then it became yeah, it took off from there. I don't spend too much time thinking about it one way or another.

Speaking as someone who years ago basically jump-started the celebrity couple name joining when he dated Jennifer Lopez some years ago, Ben Affleck has to understand the nature of popular nicknames such as Batfleck. Doubtless, considering he was once Bennifer, Batfleck is assumedly a step in the right direction, at least connecting him to one of his characters rather than a former flame. Besides, these nicknames are unlikely to go anywhere. Scarlett Johansson hates being called ScarJo, but it's not as if that nickname is going to stop being used, anytime soon. And Jennifer Lawrence's JLaw nickname actually inspired the name of a Star Trek: Discovery character, so that's really a nickname going full circle.

While Ben Affleck told WSVN-TV in Miami that he doesn't really think about the whole Batfleck phenomenon, he's definitely thought about its origins enough to understand them. While he doesn't declare a great like or dislike for Batfleck, it does seem like he's choosing to stay out of the conversation and let people use the nickname as they will (or won't).

As for Justice League's Batman, we should expect a character that is a little different than what we saw in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The last movie focused on a revengeful Batman, but the new movie will find Batfleck teaming up with other heroes like pre-Aquaman Arthur Curry and Wonder Woman. He's out to save the earth, not pissed off at Superman. So the Batfleck tone is going to be very different, and Affleck has been sure to get that across in interviews, even noting,

He's older and wiser, I guess. And he was pretty pissed off in Batman v Superman, but now it's not about finding revenge in Justice League, it's about protecting the Earth. So the feel is different.

Whether or not you are a huge fan of Ben Affleck as Batman (or Batfleck, if you will), Justice League officially hits theaters just before Thanksgiving, on November 17. You can take a look at what we know about the upcoming movie or pre-order tickets, here. In addition, you can see what other movies are coming out during the holiday season with our full movies schedule.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.