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‘Air’ star felt pressure to deliver because they didn’t ‘want their ass beat by Batman’

The Dark Knight's gone from intimidating criminals to intimidating actors.

ben affleck batman
via Warner Bros.

Acting can be pretty stressful sometimes, but we imagine it’s even more stressful if the director you’re working with is literally Batman; which is exactly what Marlon Wayans experienced filming Air.

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The biographical sports drama tells the story of Nike and basketball star Michael Jordan’s rise to fame. The film reunites Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who have appeared in multiple projects together including classics such as Good Will Hunting and School Ties, while Affleck also doubles as director. Comedian Wayans (White Chicks) spoke with Variety on what it was like to work with the DCU’s Dark Knight as a director, joking about how he felt intimidated at times.

Affleck is well known for his role as the Batman in Zack Snyder’s DCEU. Although his outings weren’t very well received, it looks like the actor has permanently retired the cape and cowl in favor of some sporty tracksuits from the 80s. However, he’s kept the muscle – and perhaps the broodiness from his time as the Caped Crusader – which he’s now using to strike fear into his actors.

Fans on Twitter poked fun at the idea of Wayans being intimidated by Affleck, AKA the “Batman director”.

Wayans plays George Raveling, coach of the USA basketball team, and it sounds like he’s bringing his A-game in order to avoid the Bat-firsts. Damon takes the lead as Sonny Vaccaro, the man who signed Jordan when he was just a rookie, while Affleck lends support Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike.