Wait... Ben Affleck Almost Directed 'The Force Awakens'?

So much Star Wars news, so little time...

This week has been a great week for fans. It seems that we’re in for a treat where the upcoming Rogue One and Justice League movies are concerned... all of the information that we’ve heard this week is so exciting! We can’t wait for either of them! But in the wake of an explosive interview with HBO, who’d have thought that both franchises could be connected in such a surprising and unexpected way.

We know him as the grizzled Bat of Gotham in this year’s mega-movie Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the accomplished director of Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo - but it seems that Ben Affleck almost awoke the Force for Disney!

'If he could be turned, he could be a powerful ally...'

Chatting on with Bill Simmons on Any Given Wednesday, Affleck gave a headline-making passionate rant about the Tom Brady Deflategate scandal. His slurred speech and frequent cuss words caught everyone’s attention, so whilst everyone was focusing on those aspects, the journalists failed to notice the news they should have been looking for....concerning a rumor that many of us never knew existed!

It seems that Affleck was secretly in the running to direct The Force Awakens and thus resurrect Star Wars. When Simmons pushed Affleck to see whether there was any grounds to the little-known rumor and why it didn't work, his guest was hesitant to divulge too many details, but he didn't outright deny that discussions had took place:

“Well I wouldn’t be able to say...It wouldn’t be polite to talk about the jobs you turned down. But I did have a lot of offers.”

So it seems that he had a disturbing lack of faith about the project. Wow, who’d have thought it eh?

‘Search your feelings...’

As we all know, the directors’ chair was taken by JJ Abrams back in January 2013, and the rest as they say is history. But would Affleck have been suitable for the task?

He’s certainly a left-field choice, but that isn’t to say that he’s not a capable director. Indeed, all the movies that he has helmed have been well-received critically, and Argo even went on to win a couple of Academy Awards and Golden Globes, so it’s safe to say that he would have produced reasonably good movie.

However, in August of 2013 Affleck was cast as Batman, and he was not only one of the main highlights of an all round divisive movie, he has since been confirmed as the director of the character’s next solo movie.

In hindsight, I think it’s safe to say that things have turned out for the best; Affleck’s directorial sensibilities, which have so far leaned towards gritty, pulse-quickening thrillers are more in tune with the darker nature of Batman as opposed to the somewhat lighter and glossier Star Wars.

And it’s not as if JJ Abrams did such a bad job either! The Force Awakens was the biggest and most well-received crowd-pleasers of recent years after all, and it’s paved the way for even more Jedi v Sith awesomeness.

However, it’s always interesting to ponder what could have been if Ben Affleck had taken the director’s chair for The Force Awakens...but alas, in the wise words of Yoda: