Warner Bros. and DC Comics have been trying to jump start their movie universe in the same way that Marvel and Disney have, but since the Dark Knight trilogy and the last Green Lantern film are not in the mix, the only movie they had to begin this universe was Man of Steel.
It was first rumored last year that Ben Affleck would actually direct a Justice League film after the new Superman reboot and maybe even play Batman, but Man of Steel director Zack Snyder announced last month at International Comic Con in San Diego that they will move the movie back to be released in 2018 and make a Man of Steel sequel instead.
Ever since Snyder announced that his next big project would actually be a Man of Steel sequel that would feature Batman (now titled Batman vs. Superman), everyone wondered, “Who is going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman?” Christopher Nolan, the director of the Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale and others from the Dark Knight series already said that the new DC movie universe will not include the series because it was too realistic to include any sci-fi or magic, meaning that they would have to find someone new to play the millionaire playboy.
Snyder later announced that Warner Bros. was looking for an actor in his late 30s or early 40s. Last Thursday it was announced that Affleck would play Batman. Affleck has since signed on with Warner Bros. to play the character in several films.
After the announcement, fans began protesting Warner Bros., claiming that Affleck was a bad choice. Tweets were sent and petitions were signed calling for Affleck’s removal from the soon-to-be film.
Fans claim that Bale should be re-cast for Batman even though he said he wouldn’t play the role. I actually think that Affleck is a good choice. Much of the controversy might have been caused by the fact that Affleck had not taken roles similar to this one in recent years and because of the failure of his only superhero film, Daredevil.
A similar occurrence happened to Heath Ledger when he was announced to play the Joker because he wasn’t well-known and took on less serious roles than the one of the notorious Batman villain.
Affleck is actually a great actor, writer and director, as we have seen in his Academy Award-winning film Argo, and he could probably portray the two roles of Bruce Wayne and Batman very well. Besides, Affleck has experience in screenwriting and will be able to use that skill to effectively portray the role of Batman.
Commotion over the news would have probably occurred no matter who was chosen to play the Batman because it has only been a year since the Dark Knight trilogy concluded.
Abdalah El-Barrad is a freshman studying economics and a columnist for The Post. Do you think Ben Affleck was a good choice to play Batman, too? Email him at ae738513@ohiou.edu
