The billion-dollar movie Ben Affleck almost starred in: “Am I allowed to say that?”
They might not have always been good, but Ben Affleck has made some incredibly successful movies.
Case in point, his three highest-grossing films are all part of the DC Extended Universe, which I think we can all agree was a complete waste of everybody’s time. Further down the list, we find several films by Michael Bay, the odd, terrible rom-com, and Daredevil. Nice to know that he can make terrible superhero movies regardless of publisher.
Had things gone slightly differently, then the film at the top of this list would be a very different one. Affleck was initially supposed to make a cameo in Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar smash hit. He was going to crop up in the “Beach Fight” scene, potentially playing another variation of Ken. Alas, he was too busy making the movie Air and had to turn the opportunity down.
The source of this juicy tidbit is very reliable. Michael Cera, who plays the sole ‘Allan’ doll in Barbieland, revealed this information at a Q&A event featuring the cast and crew of the movie. After he’d initially spilt the beans, he was a little worried he’d gotten himself in trouble.
“Am I allowed to say that?” he queried, before getting the thumbs up to go ahead with his anecdote. “I think Ben wanted to do it, but he was directing his movie.”
Unfortunately for cinema’s most awkward man, this meant he had to step in and plug the gap. “They’re like, ‘Okay, Ben’s out, something has to happen here. So you’re gonna fight them,’” Cera continued. “So I had to jump in with the stunt team. I had just gotten over Covid, and they had me training, and I almost died.”
Had Affleck been able to commit to the film, he would have been in excellent company. John Cena briefly crops up as the aquatic ‘Kenmaid’. Ironically, he was told not to appear in the film, but chose to do it anyway. Rhea Perlman makes an unexpected appearance as Ruth Handler, the woman who invented the Barbie doll back in 1959.
For my money, however, the best cameo goes to Ann Roth. She’s the old woman with whom Margot Robbie’s character shares an emotional moment at a bus stop. A legendary costume designer, Roth (who is 94 years old at the time of writing) is a two-time Oscar winner and personal friend of Ms Gerwig.
Despite being about a shoe, Air ended up among 2023’s best-reviewed movies. This meant that it went up against Barbie at a number of that year’s awards shows. They were both nominated for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ by the Writers Guild of America, but the prize ultimately went to The Holdovers. They shared a number of categories at the Critics’ Choice Awards, with Barbie defeating Air for ‘Best Original Screenplay’. Barbie was nominated eight times at the Oscars, while Air… oh dear… let’s just move on.
Ultimately, Affleck not being in Barbie did little to affect its popularity. Would he have made the movie better? Possibly. Was he kicking himself for missing out on his first billion-dollar movie? Almost certainly. Don’t blame him, though. After all, he’s just Ben…
