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Ben Affleck Talks BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Casting Criticisms, Preparation For Batman Role And More

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly while promoting his new movie Gone Girl, Ben Affleck discussed playing the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of course, he remained mum on specific details, but he had this to say about preparing for the role of perhaps the greatest comic book character of all time. “I’m right in the middle of shooting now. It’s a process that I’ll probably have better perspective on when I’m done. I can tell you that every time I do a role, it’s the responsibility of an actor to get their physical self as close to the role as possible. And Batman’s obviously got a set of expectations that are tough. So I spent a lot of time working out. And it’s a far cry from Gone Girl where my character is described as “puffy and hungover.” I want you to know I worked equally hard at both!” Affleck’s comments about being physically suited for a role are substantiated by the actor’s particularly muscular physique, making him look even more like the Batman of the comics.

Talk then turned to the strong backlash against Affleck playing Batman, which is the latest in a long line of comic book movie castings that were initially controversial. The actor isn’t too bothered with these criticisms, and he reaffirmed that he knew what to expect before accepting the role. Affleck also previously played Daredevil in 2003’s hit-and-miss Marvel adaptation, so he certainly knows how this game works. He then goes on to praise Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio’s vision for Dawn of Justice. “Before I took the role, Warner Bros. gave me a bunch of past reactions to casting and said, “Are you sure you want to get into this? This is part and parcel of these movies now. There’s a lot of active fans with a lot of opinions.” To me, having been through a certain amount of that, it doesn’t really… Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I wouldn’t have taken the part if I didn’t trust my instincts in terms of the filmmaking. I think Chris Terrio wrote a terrific script. Zack’s a great visual director. And there’s an interesting take. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I could do it. I have the benefit of a lot of that understanding. But also, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That’s a big part of this international sport. The Fifty Shades of Grey kid or whatever it is. That’s sort of become a thing.” He then adds, “You know what? It’s great that people do care that much. They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honor the story. There are the Greek myths and these are the American myths. The American myths are these superheroes. People care about ‘em a lot. And it’s incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie’s all that matters.” 


Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to hit theaters March 25th, 2016. A follow-up to Man of Steel, the second installment in the DC Cinematic Universe stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Callan Mulvey, Tao Okamoto, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne. Zack Snyder directs from a script by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer.

Paul Romano

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.