Matt Damon at the "Elysium" press conference at the Conrad Seoul on Aug. 14, 2013, in Seoul
It’s official: Matt Damon will not be playing Robin to Ben Affleck’s Batman.
While taking a few minutes to tell The Times of India he thought Affleck—with whom he’ll be forever linked because of Good Will Hunting—would be “great” and “terrific” in the role of a brooding Dark Knight, Damon also put an end to any fun speculation that he’d play his sidekick. “It’s safe to say I won’t be Robin,” he said. “I am a little older than Ben. I never saw Robin as older than Batman.”
(READ: Richard Corliss on Elysium)
He did offer plenty of support for Affleck, however, reminding folks we’re talking only about the silly role of a superhero. “I know there are a lot of people grousing on the Internet. I just think it’s kind of funny,” Damon said. “You know, he not playing King Lear. It’s Batman! [That’s] certainly within his skill set. If anybody saw Argo or The Town and all the work he’s been doing lately, it’s way more nuanced and interesting and way more difficult than Batman! Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people. Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that.”
So while we can’t really tell if Damon’s a fan of the actual Batman role or not, we do know he’s a fan of Christopher Nolan, who directed the most recent Batman trilogy. If the newfound reports come to fruition, Damon will team up with the director (and stars Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain) for a supporting role in Nolan’s time-travel tale, Interstellar. The movie, with Damon’s part filmed in Iceland, also features Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow and Topher Grace. Since Damon can walk into any size role with the ease unlike many, expect excitement all around for any spot in the new movie, no matter which time period Nolan places him in.
(READ: Ben Affleck as Batman: Seven Reasons Fans Are Unhappy)
Since Interstellar won’t take up more than a few weeks of his time, expect to see Damon behind the camera, making a directorial debut—if he can work out all the contractual nitty-gritty, as The Playlist first reported—with A Foreigner. The script, penned by Argo screenwriter Chris Terrio, is based on a New Yorker article about a series of assassinations that rocked Guatemala in 2009.
With everything reportedly on his plate already, there’s simply no room for Damon as a sidekick.