Ben Affleck is Batman

[The Laughing Fish]

I'm pleased to see that the reaction to the casting news has been pretty measured as far as this site goes.  Even the detractors don't seem to be emitting steam from their ears.  Contrast that with some of the nonsense on Twitter and other forums where 'fans' are already starting petitions...

Those people deserve a massive kick in the ass. Especially those hacks on Twitter; I never thought those celebrities would show their true colours by posting their pathetic comments. From what I've seen so far, a lot of these people hating on the Affleck casting happen to like Bale's laughably bad, self parody portrayal...
 

Like I said before, if Affleck even performs at bare minimum, I'd say that alone would be an improvement from Bale.

Having said that, I'll judge Affleck's performance when the movie comes out. Until then, I won't be making any knee-jerk reactions or predictions.

[The Dark Knight]

The harsh response does indeed suck when it's not a bad choice in the first place.

Daniel Craig received one hell of a mean backlash. And he came shining through it. He said afterwards that the response spurred him on even harder to prove the haters wrong. I'm sure Affleck can and will do the same.

[BatmAngelus]

I thought I'd gather some fun facts/connections. 

Our new Batman has not only been Daredevil and worn the Superman suit, but he's also:
- Fought off terrorists with Lucius Fox (The Sum of All Fears)
- Fought Harvey Dent/Two-Face, with the aid of Poison Ivy (Paycheck)
- Ran a law office with Happy Hogan (Daredevil)
- Robbed banks with Hawkeye and fell for Maya Hansen and had an old romance with Carol Ferris (The Town)
- Helped throw a play with Pepper Potts in a film that also co-starred Carmine Falcone (Shakespeare in Love)
- Was roommates with Jor-El (State of Play)
- Slept with Martha Kent (Hollywoodland)
- Co-starred with Jonathan Kent, Two-Face/Colonel Phillips, and the new Norman Osborn (The Company Men)

I'm sure we can come up with more, but that's a start for now...

[zDBZ]

I'm not terribly excited by the news, nor am I turned off.  There's something about his eyes that---I don't know, I just don't see him putting on a batsuit.  I can buy Keaton doing it, Kilmer doing it, Clooney doing it (for Kilmer and Clooney, just not in the movies they wound up in), and even though I really didn't care for his voice I could see Bale doing it.  There has to be something a little 'off' about Bruce/Batman, and I don't see it in any of Affleck's performances or in his aesthetic.

That said, he's a capable actor--he's grown quite a bit in the last 10 years.  As a director and producer he has had a remarkable career/turn around.  This *could* work...but, I don't know.  When I think Batman he just doesn't come to mind for me.  Maybe it's a personal bias about the character.

This is a pretty decent sum-up of my reaction. Especially with Snyder' statement that Batman is to be the older and more experienced of the two, Affleck's is not a face that seems like it's seen years of a hard, bitter battle against crime IMO.

[The Dark Knight]

I'm happy a decision has been made. We know who it is.

And also, Affleck would mean Batman is going to get a solid chunk of screen time. Which really appeals to me. Snyder is bound to have stylised action and cool looking vehicles.

Move over Supe. When Batman is around it's always about him. 

[BatmAngelus]

Words of encouragement from two former Batmen:
Adam West: https://twitter.com/therealadamwest/status/371021971556806657

Remember Ben, with the cape and cowl comes great responsibility (and lots of heat). Bring deodorant. #batman @BenAffleck

Val Kilmer: https://twitter.com/ValEKilmer/status/371045024168833024

Give Ben a chance!

[The Dark Knight]

Good show from those guys.

I'm excited about the coming movie of course, but also the inevitable solo film. If Joker and these dudes show up, they've already met and clashed in the past. Which is what I've wanted for a while.

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

I'm pleased to see that the reaction to the casting news has been pretty measured as far as this site goes.  Even the detractors don't seem to be emitting steam from their ears.  Contrast that with some of the nonsense on Twitter and other forums where 'fans' are already starting petitions...

Those people deserve a massive kick in the ass. Especially those hacks on Twitter; I never thought those celebrities would show their true colours by posting their pathetic comments. From what I've seen so far, a lot of these people hating on the Affleck casting happen to like Bale's laughably bad, self parody portrayal...
 

Like I said before, if Affleck even performs at bare minimum, I'd say that alone would be an improvement from Bale.

Having said that, I'll judge Affleck's performance when the movie comes out. Until then, I won't be making any knee-jerk reactions or predictions.

Even Tom Hardy (Bane) I believe stuck a knife into Affleck on twitter. Not sure if there's history between them? I thought it was a slightly sh*tty and stupid thing to do myself. Celebrities should really stay away from twitter so as to prevent themselves looking like assholes. I think even Christopher Nolan once said it wasn't his place to criticize other Batman projects and good for him. Real gentlemen. That should apply to the future too.

[The Laughing Fish]

I could not help but notice some buffoon writing this on the Washington Times website writing this in the Disqus comments:

Daredevil was more of a failure of writing and direction. Why pin the failure of a movie on the star who hadn't reached his prime yet? Just be thankful that Mr.Freeze,Poison Ivy,Batgirl and Riddler aren't going to be in it.

No one can be a true Batman fan if they say something like that. If Affleck has any story input at all, I hope that he will not be dissuaded from using certain characters just to achieve some pretentious level of 'realism'.

[BatmAngelus]

I'm pleased to see that the reaction to the casting news has been pretty measured as far as this site goes.  Even the detractors don't seem to be emitting steam from their ears.  Contrast that with some of the nonsense on Twitter and other forums where 'fans' are already starting petitions...

Those people deserve a massive kick in the ass. Especially those hacks on Twitter; I never thought those celebrities would show their true colours by posting their pathetic comments. From what I've seen so far, a lot of these people hating on the Affleck casting happen to like Bale's laughably bad, self parody portrayal...
 

Like I said before, if Affleck even performs at bare minimum, I'd say that alone would be an improvement from Bale.

Having said that, I'll judge Affleck's performance when the movie comes out. Until then, I won't be making any knee-jerk reactions or predictions.

Even Tom Hardy (Bane) I believe stuck a knife into Affleck on twitter. Not sure if there's history between them? I thought it was a slightly sh*tty and stupid thing to do myself. Celebrities should really stay away from twitter so as to prevent themselves looking like assholes.

Where'd you hear this?  I could be wrong, but from what I've found, Tom Hardy does not have twitter.