Holy crap, calm down internet, everything's going to be just fine. The Batman/Superman crossover slated to come out in a few years has already generated levels of public outcry only previously encountered during last year's Twinkie rage. In case you haven't heard, Ben Affleck has been cast as the next Batman, and will appear in Man of Steel 2. Apparently some people aren't too happy about it. Before you do anything stupid like say you won't go see this movie, here are some things to keep in mind.
Stop pretending you aren't going to see this movie,
guy-who-swore-he'd-move-to-Canada-after-last-year's-election.
#1 It Was Never, Ever Going to Be Christian Bale.
As much as we all enjoy Christopher Nolan's dark Batman universe, there will be no more Batbale. Nolan always intended for it to be a trilogy, and his Batman is independent of any crossover universes DC intends to produce. Lots of fans were disappointed that Bale wasn't offered a truck of money to reprise the role, but those same fans must have missed every important element of Bale's aging character in "Dark Knight Rises"- the whole point of that movie was to express that Bale's batman had reached an end, questioning whether the city needed Batman and whether Bale himself needed Batman anymore. The end of the movie is cathartic, with Bale living a normal life abroad and someone else carrying on his work.
That's why this scene happened.
#2 At Worst, He Will Still Be The Second Best Batman.
Before you freak out about the merits of "Batman Forever", consider what this movie will be. "Man of Steel" finally got Superman right, and the sequel should be equally terrific. Henry Cavill is a quality leading man, and adding Ben Affleck to the mix in a slightly more mature and possibly borderline mentor-ish role would be totally awesome. They didn't cast a young unknown actor because they don't want Batman to be young or inexperienced. They don't need to rehash Batman's origins, Warner Bros knows everyone already saw Batman Begins. Not only can Affleck pull off being the intelligent, calculating, butt-kicking Batman, he can also be a believable Bruce Wayne, which is tough to do. Don't believe it? Then apparently you skipped out on seeing "Argo".
#3 The Dude Is An Oscar-Winning Actor.
"The Town" was a good movie; "Argo" was something else. Seriously, go see it. The guy knows what he's doing, you can't hold "Daredevil" against him anymore. Daredevil came out ten years ago, back when Halle Berry won an Academy Award for Best Actress- things have changed in ten years. That was before Hollywood even figured out superhero movies, spewing out a really awful Hulk movie, two really awful Fantastic 4 movies, and a semi-sequel to Daredevil that nobody saw.
Also, ten years ago Jennifer Garner was still in movies. It was a different time.
The "Daredevil sucks" argument against Affleck is pretty baseless, because honestly it wasn't the acting that was bad, it was a combination of a bad screenplay and the plot in general. Affleck is a pretty self-aware guy, he knows he's taking on a role people love, he's aware of how brutal comic-book nerds can be, and best of all, he's not afraid to laugh at himself.
Give the guy some credit, he's going to do fine as Batman and the crossover movie will be awesome. We're still not sold on how successful DC's "Justice League" plans will be, but this is a big step in the right direction. And even if you disagree and think Affleck is a stupid casting choice, you're still going to see the movie anyway so pipe down and stop being negative- Batman and Superman are going to be in the same movie; this is cause to be excited.
**UPDATE: For even more credible reasons Ben Affleck can pull off Batman, head over to ScreenRant and read this article.
**ANOTHER UPDATE: Here are the negative reactions to Christopher Nolan casting Heath Ledger as the Joker a few years ago.
-L
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