Upon this news, there was a tremendous backlash of mixed emotions across the internet and media platforms of all kind; Mostly negative, but I guess that goes without saying. There are actually online petitions to have the role recast. This is nuts. Literally...nuts. Most fans just seem to think that Affleck just does not have the chops to pull off such a role. But let us take this back to 1989 when Michael Keaton was first announced that he would be playing Batman in the first of the two Tim Burton Bat flicks. There were mostly negative naysayers then, too. Keaton was thought of too much of a funny man to play tormented Bruce Wayne. The rest is history, right? The same could be said for Heath Ledger as The Joker in "The Dark Knight"; I can still hear the internet chatter: "There's no way he can top Nicholson!" How'd that work out?
I believe we are in the same boat now with Affleck. Keep in mind, this is the third time that he will be portraying a comic book superhero. First he was Matt Murdock in "Daredevil", then he was George Reeves/Superman in the true-crime drama "Hollywoodland" and finally he has landed the coveted role of Batman in the yet untitled "Man of Steel" sequel. His portrayals have only gotten better, so as with the old cliche: third time's the charm!
But not only does Affleck have the right look to play the part, as well a great physical screen presence, he has shown time and again that he can play this sort of role, in an all-serious manner; See "The Town" and "Argo" if you disagree. To me, Ben just seems to have what it takes to perfectly adapt Frank Miller's version of the character to the silver screen. I, for one, am eagerly excited to see this play out. And really, you should be too!
Much like the role of Agent 007, the role of Batman is a torch that is passed on, and although Christian Bale did a helluva job in the Christopher Nolan trilogy, the torch may finally be hitting its pinnacle with Ben Affleck. Mark my words, here and now: not only will Ben Affleck be the perfect Batman, but he will be the best Batman ever, far and away.
Now take a step back, let this soak in, and, well, let the rest just be history.
Article originally published by Nick Meece on the Indianapolis Movie Examiner.