Following in the footsteps of Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale, Warner Brothers has dropped the bomb that Ben Affleck will be the next Batman. He’ll join the reigning Superman, Henry Cavill, in the Man of Steel sequel that was announced at SDCC. It’ll be the first live-action film in which the two characters face off.
My reaction can only be summed up with an animated GIF.
Affleck’s doing pretty well for himself these days as a star and director, taking home a second Oscar earlier this year for Argo’s Best Picture win, but who among us doesn’t remember 2003’s Daredevil? Still, if the second superhero role was the charm for Chris Evans, certainly Affleck can turn it around as well.
And, lest we forget:
I look forward to the spirited online debate we'll be having when they announce the casting of Wonder Woman in 2068.
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 23, 2013
Sigh.
Shoot me now…
Oh, thank God. That way he’s busy and can’t show up in Episode VII. #Yay ;-)
Now if somebody could please take Liv Tyler off the market for the next couple of years as well. I’d really appreciate it. :-)
And BTW: I wouldn’t mind if Affleck became the director of a spin-off movie or something. Just don’t let him “act” (or whatever he calls it).
Eh, why not? It’s still a Zack Snyder film. Ain’t like it was gonna be good anyway.
It’s not like the movie had any chance of being good anyways. Better him there than with Star Wars.
I love Affleck. I think his Batman will be great. He’ll be the best part of the movie.
Now if only he were directing it…
I like the choice. People will point to Daredevil — a *ten* year old film from the infancy of comic book movies — but fail to consider the director’s cut, which added 30 minutes, a sub-plot, and an R rating. That tells me that Daredevil wasn’t Affleck’s failing, but the studio’s.
In the meantime, Affleck has done fantastic things in Hollywood, including great roles in Argo and Hollywoodland to name only two.
The internet had similar righteous “end of the world” indignation with Heath Ledger as the Joker. Before that role, possibly one of the best portrayals of the villain *ever*, he was better known for Brokeback Mountain and A Knight’s Tale.
Besides, if Michael “Mr. Mom” Keaton can successfully wear the cowl twice, and Val Kilmer can at least make a bright spot out of Batman Forever, the franchise will survive Affleck.
By the way, while we’re complaining about this casting — the ninth official live-action portrayal of Batman — Wonder Woman is still without a silver screen adaptation.
…It’s just Batman. Sheesh. I don’t get the angst. Like all I thought when I heard about casting “Man of Steel” was “If they make Henry Cavill take his shirt off even half as often as he stripped in ‘The Tudors’ it’ll be worth the price of admission…”
Not suprise there: Maybe you have to be an American to love Wonder Woman but I never quite got the hype there. She’s about as interesting as Superman or Captain America, i.e. not at all.
I’d rather have a Batman movie in the footsteps of The Dark Knight Returns where Robin is a girl (an actual girl, that is, not Chris O’Donnell) and eventually takes over as Batman. Or Batgirl. Or Batwhatever.
Daredevil is a good movie.
I hear the alternate/director’s version is even better than the cinema cut – haven’t got round to watching it yet.
Affleck will be a decent Batman.
Warner Bros. probably think they’ve scored a coup recruiting the acclaimed actor/director for their 2015 tent-pole picture, a year they’re up against epic competition from Disney (Star Wars Episode VII & The Avengers: Age of Ultron).
Maybe Affleck will be able to earn enough from this deal to finance projects, and direct more movies as good as Argo. With any luck he’ll also have enough left to further his political ambitions, too.
Batman as a character is more about the interplay between Bruce Wayne and his darker persona than his vigilantism; many can do a workable onscreen crime-fighter when caped, cowled and accompanied by pyrotechnics and R&D. It’s the billionaire philanthropist that Affleck will play, and he’ll do this as well as Bale. He must’ve been confident in Snyder’s intentions in order to sign on to this project now that once again he’s Hollywood A-list (Academy-snub notwithstanding).
Also, this is the first time Superman and Batman have been brought together for a full blown film – Warner/DC have too much riding on it to let it fail.