Jeremy Irons Says Batman V Superman Deserved Its Critical Mauling
He promises The Batman will be smaller and more linear.
Usually when a film is mauled by the critics but makes a lot of money, the actors involved (and especially those who are tied into the franchise for sequels) toe the line and wait a few years before they admit they thought it was terrible.
Not so for Jeremy Irons, who has spoken with the Daily Mail about his forthcoming film Race (which lands in UK cinemas on 3rd June) and admitted he doesn't think the critical reception of the movie isn't undeserved. The Mail mentioned the film getting an "absolute kicking" and Irons was typically candid:
"Deservedly so. I mean it took 800 million, so the kicking didnt matter but it was sort of overstuffed It was very muddled."
How refreshing to see some self-awareness.
Irons also confirms that Warner Bros seem to be learning lessons from what he's seen from the stand-alone Batman film already:
"I think the next one will be simpler. The script is certainly a lot smaller, its more linear."
Good news. And it's not exactly surprising, given the very specific concerns with coherence in Snyder's ensemble. The script was flabby, lacked important scenes and was flat-out poor in places: a lot of work needs to go in to making sure DC and Warner Bros avoid those mistakes with future films.
The actor also spoke about what he has coming up with DC, including confirming that Ben Affleck's 2018 solo is called The Batman (as widely suspected):
"Im tied into The Batman at the minute [the next instalment, Justice League Part One, is due next year], which is nice because its a bit of income"
Whether Warner Bros will take kindly to his comments remains to be seen, but they can't sack him - he was easily the best part of Batman v Superman and seeing his sassy Alfred return is a big plus.