Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne in Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice almost a year ago, but the divisive fan chatter about his casting has yet to die down (and likely won’t until the film hits theaters in 2016). Affleck talked about landing the role in passing on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last September (saying, “I handle s**t!“), but has remained remarkably tight-lipped about it ever since.
When talking to Entertainment Weekly about his upcoming David Fincher film Gone Girl, the actor opened up a little bit about playing Batman and how he feels about the fan backlash. He unfortunately didn’t give us any information about the film itself, but praised Zack Snyder’s vision and Chris Terrio’s script.
When asked about what it’s like portraying an iconic hero like Batman, Affleck said:
“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]”
Affleck is noticeably gigantic in the photos we’ve seen of him in the Batsuit, and looked massive standing next to Henry Cavill at San Diego Comic-Con last month. There’s no denying that he’ll play a tougher, bulkier Batman than we’ve ever seen before, which will give him a slight advantage when taking on the Man of Steel (the armored Batsuit doesn’t hurt, either).
When asked about the “outcry” that took the internet by storm after his casting was announced, Affleck said:
“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.” 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.”
He does understand why fans got so heated though, and apparently doesn’t take it personally. He knows that at the end of the day, the reactions stem from a love of the material and of the characters:
You know what? It’s great that people do care that much. They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honor 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.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25th, 2016. The film stars Affleck as Bruce Wayne, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, and Callan Mulvey, Scoot McNairy, Tao Okamoto, and Holly Hunter in unspecified roles.