Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is currently filming, and Ben Affleck is still fielding questions about the fan reaction to his casting as Bruce Wayne.
Speaking to EW, Affleck continues to state that he’s confident he can pull the character off, even if the haters aren’t.
“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.'” he explains.
“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.”
However, he does understand why people do have such strong opinions about the character and the franchise.
“You know what? It’s great that people do care that much,” he stated. “They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honour 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.”
Affleck also spoke about the physical strains of playing someone like Batman, having jumped from Gone Girl‘s Nick Dunne to looking like he could square off against the Man Of Steel.
“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! [laughs]”
The fact that this is essentially the same line that Affleck has given since his casting was announced doesn’t make it any less valid.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice will be released on 6 May 2016 – read our defence of Ben Affleck’s casting here and Gal Gadot’s casting here. Find out more about the comics that inspired the film with new digital magazine Uncanny Comics.
