Ben Affleck is not interested in a superhero showdown with Jon Bernthal, even if he had his red leather suit back. The two actors are on a press tour promoting The Accountant 2, but in an interview with YouTuber Jake Hamilton this weekend, they spared some time to talk about Daredevil, Punisher, and the MCU. Affleck bluntly admitted that he didn’t think his version of Daredevil could go toe-to-toe with Bernthal’s version of the Punisher, and he seemed prepared to poke fun at his 2003 portrayal in general. Along the way, Affleck gave his own take on why the MCU has been so successful where other comic book adaptations have not.
“Well, his Punisher is good!” Affleck said gregariously. He later added that he isn’t familiar with the dynamic between Bernthal’s Punisher and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, but whatever’s going on, he doesn’t think his version of Matt Murdock could handle it. “There’s a new Daredevil, I haven’t seen it yet, but I certainly love the character, I wish the best, but I wouldn’t tangle with his Punisher,” he said.
Affleck was self-deprecating about his time as the man without fear, but in the process, he explained why he thinks the MCU is working better for these kinds of stories. “Daredevil was an interesting story, but we probably don’t have time for it,” he said. “It was really before, frankly, Kevin Feige had stepped into the role of running Marvel and really imposed a kind of clarity of tone across those movies. That figured out the trickiest thing, which is: how do you balance a movie where you’ve got people wearing, like, pajamas, and have superpowers — how seriously do you take it? And how much humor is in it? How much can you wink at the audience, and what does the action how to look like?”
“It coincided with visual effects getting to a place where it could look really convincing,” Affleck went on. “It made the way for great actors like [Bernthal] to step into roles and really get it done.”
Affleck played Matt Murdock in the 2003 stand-alone movie written and directed by Mark Stephen Johnson. It was a critical and commercial flop, with critics finding the story too slow to stay interesting. A planned sequel was canceled in the development phase, reportedly in part because Affleck wanted to tackle some of the darker stories in the character’s comics but the studio did not. However, a spinoff starring Jennifer Garner as Elektra was released in 2005.
Garner reprised that role last year for Deadpool & Wolverine, confirming that Affleck’s Daredevil story is canon to the MCU, taking place in an alternate reality. This has prompted a lot of interviewers to ask Affleck about donning the cowl again lately, but he seems generally opposed to the idea.
Those interested can revisit Daredevil (2003) now on Disney+. The season finale of Daredevil: Born Again premieres there on Tuesday, April 15th.
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