Jeremy Irons has hit out at the theatrical cut of Justice League, calling it “dreadful”.

• READ MORE: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ review: an unflinching update fans can be proud of

The actor, who played Batman’s butler Alfred Pennyworth in the superhero film, recently said he had not seen Zack Snyder’s cut but added that he thinks it “couldn’t have been worse” than the theatrical version.

“Strangely, I think I have it and I haven’t seen it. I shall have to hunt it out and see if I have it somewhere online or on a DVD. I remember talking to Zack [Snyder] before he did it and being very interested to see what he came up with,” Irons told Variety.

The actor was then reminded that some viewers had called the film “dreadful”, and replied: “Well, so did I.”

Earlier this month Ben Affleck described the filming of Justice League as “the worst experience” and the “nadir” of his career.

“That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy [Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in 2017] and the reshooting,” Affleck said.

“It just was the worst experience. It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ It’s not even about, like, Justice League was so bad. Because it could have been anything,” he added.

In a four-star review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, NME wrote: “Zack Snyder’s Justice League does justice by the comic publisher’s raft of pioneering creations. It’s justice for Snyder’s vision, and the heartache of losing daughter Autumn – which led to his departure from the project (her dedication at the end of the movie is both poignant and fitting).

“And it’s justice for a DC comics fanbase that has been put through the wringer with poor adaptations and meandering visions for much of the last decade.”