'Lego Batman' Star Will Arnett Talks Ben Affleck's 'Batman'

At the Las Vegas CinemaCon in April 2016, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara announced after months of speculation that Ben Affleck would take on the directorial duties of the upcoming standalone Batman movie. As time went on, however, it seemed less and less likely Affleck would do so. Although he did say he was going to direct and star in the movie when the script was finished, rumors persisted that he wasn’t going to be able to take on both heavily involved roles at the same time.

Finally, in January, Affleck announced he would be giving up the director’s chair. “Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give,” Affleck said in a statement. “It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require. Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director.”

So who is going to direct the movie now? “I am!” Will Arnett jokingly told Yahoo Movies at the junket for The Lego Batman Movie. “We don’t want to announce it, but I can say this, I wanted to wait for Yahoo — I’m directing it! And I don’t know what I’m doing! And I’m a maniac! And I’ve got no skills or anything! But that’s going to be fun, I think.”

OK, so Arnett isn’t actually going to make the movie. The BoJack Horseman and Flaked star said that he understands why Affleck had to bow out. “It seemed like it was a lot,” Arnett agreed. “It was going to be way too much work … to devote himself to [both jobs]. I’ve got to say, playing Batman in those live-action movies seems, like, super-hard and super-involved. It must be a rough schedule, and to also be directing that would be pretty hard.”

Arnett, part of a team that’s already getting rave reviews for its take on the Dark Knight, has only good things to say about his fellow Caped Crusader. “I think he’s an awesome Batman, by the way,” Arnett said. “He’s so intense. He’s the scariest Batman yet, which is cool.”

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