In spite all the backlash towards Ben Affleck’s appointment as the next live-action Batman, Affleck begins an intense training regiment to bulk up. Click the jump to see more.
It’s really difficult to discuss Ben Affleck as the new Batman without first acknowledging the insurmountable opposition to his appointment. The outburst of backlash and hate has lead to various attacks on Affleck on Facebook and Twitter. For instance, a Man of Steel Facebook Fanpage, often mistaken for having official connections to WB, had to start heavily moderating the comments when they began receiving death threats from fans upset with the casting choice. All of this culminated in what looks to be dozens of petitions on Change.org to remove Ben Affleck from the role. Here’s screen cap of the search results for “Ben Affleck:”
Conversely, if you click on the next page, you’ll find a couple petitions pushing to keep Affleck in the role. Though the rage is much more vocal, there are more optimistic voices cropping up on the Internet, explaining why Affleck is a good fit for the role, though I find this guy’s opinion has some weight:
Affleck’ll crush it. He’s got the chops, he’s got the chin — just needs the material. Affleck & Cavill toe to toe — I’m in.
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) August 24, 2013
Or you can head on over to Patton Oswalt’s Facebook page and read his lengthy comment on Ben Affleck, where he raises some pretty good points.
It’s true that neither of their opinions matter in the long run, but it’s pretty cool that they’re willing to lend some support. Based on my casual and unimpressive attempt at objective journalism, you’ll notice that I’m not quite as displeased with this casting as some other people. Sure, I was quite speechless and incredulous when I glimpsed the news while ordering sushi Thursday night, I’ve become quite indifferent to it. Upon previous discussions, I’ve mentioned the Wait-and-see approach, but I feel like now is the most appropriate time to utilize it. I wouldn’t consider myself an Affleck fan, but I have enjoyed his work in the past, especially his work with Kevin Smith and, of course, his directorial work. Although he was one of the first people I dismissed, I find that he should at least have his chance at the Batman before we completely dismiss him from the role. As many other actors have surprised us in the past (I’m not going to name any names, but you guys know who they are), I feel like we should give him the opportunity to surprise us as well. So yeah, I’m not completely in love with the idea of Affleck as the new Batman as I still don’t know for sure if he can pull it off, but I don’t completely hate the idea because he has shown that he can act well. So, I will wait and see.
At the very least, we know that he’s taking the role seriously. The news here is that Affleck is already undergoing a pretty intense exercise regiment to significantly bulk up and properly play the Caped Crusader. Accordingly, he’s working out two hours everyday, despite having a very busy schedule in the upcoming months. Starting next month, he’ll be going in front of camera to star in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, where the shoot is expected to wrap in February of next year, where he’ll immediately jump into Man of Steel 2/Batman Vs. Superman. While filming Batman Vs. Superman, he’s expected to be doing double duty, in that he’ll be playing Batman and simultaneously begin pre-production on his next flick, Live by Night. Though, you may say his attention will be divided, I say that it makes him seem more like the character as he is forced to double as a major Hollywood director by day and play Batman by night. Not really, but the metaphor still fits.
As I said before, I’m not particularly upset with this news, but I will leave you with the one of the more entertaining reaction tweets:
Ben Affleck officially cast as Batman in the Man of Steel sequel. For the first time in history, I kind of want Superman to win.
— The Batman (@TheBatman) August 23, 2013
Does this news make any difference on your opinion of the casting? Will Affleck be able to pull it off, or do you think he’ll fail? Let me know.
Source – ComicBook.com, Patton Oswalt via Gothamist, Joss Whedon via EW, Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly
