Joss Whedon Defends Ben Affleck as Batman

[Canadamus Prime]

I say give the guy a chance. Let's see how he does before we condemn him.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

trying to reserve judgement.

hope we get more of a Burton Feel than a Nolanised one. cant see that too serious tone working with Justice League

 

[Mr. Q]

I wanna give Affleck the benefit of the doubt and think he will do a great job with the role. But, given the fact that the same team that made Man of Steel is working on the upcoming Superman/Batman crossover doesn't leave me brimming with confidence. Unless they plan to do a cheery Batman to play against the dreary Superman (maybe Ben Affleck can channel his inner Adam West), I feel that this movie is gonna end up as two dudes trying to out-brood on another.

 

[Smurf McSmurfington]

I... wait, people had a problem with Affleck being cast as Batman? Really? Why?

 

[RJ 17]

Val Kilmer, a former Batman himself, urged fans to "Give Ben a chance!"

If all it takes to make a good Batman actor is having "the chops and the chin", then Val Kilmer would have been the greatest Batman to-date.

People's backlash came from Ben's track record. As Oswalt said: all actors make bad movies, but I'd think that most would argue that Ben has been in way more bad movies than good ones. Could he do alright in the part? Perhaps. But the odds aren't weighted in his favor.

 

[kickyourass]

Ben Affleck is an odd case, basically all the movies he's starred in have been absolute garbage (Even the good ones he's acting has been kinda average), but at the same time almost all the movies he's DIRECTED have been amazing. He clearly knows how to make good movies, so maybe with a decent script behind him he'll be able to pull off the acting side of making good movies.

 

[RJ 17]

He can't be worse than Clooney.

What, you didn't like the Bat-Nipples or Bat-Credit Card?

Unless they plan to do a cheery Batman to play against the dreary Superman (maybe Ben Affleck can channel his inner Adam West), I feel that this movie is gonna end up as two dudes trying to out-brood on another.

Batman: "Ugh..."
Superman: "Uggghhhhhh..."
Batman: "Uuuuuuuggggghhhhhhhh..."
Superman: "UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Batman: "*****! MAH PARENTS GOT MURDERED!"
Superman: "*****! MAH PLANET GOT KERPLODED!!!"
Yes, truly inspiring dialogue options between two overly angsty heroes. :3

Ben Affleck is an odd case, basically all the movies he's starred in have been absolute garbage (Even the good ones he's acting has been kinda average), but at the same time almost all the movies he's DIRECTED have been amazing. He clearly knows how to make good movies, so maybe with a decent script behind him he'll be able to pull off the acting side of making good movies.

I was going to bring this up in my previous response as well (the one right above yours). I'm not a big Ben fan (clearly) but I do give credit where it's due: the good movies that I mention in my previous response are 90% of the time the ones that he's personally directed. Again, though, the odds aren't weighted in his favor for this to turn out to be a good role/movie for him considering his track record and the fact that he's not directing.

Though even if he were directing, I bet there'd be a LOT more backlash over that news than the backlash over the fact that he's starring as Batman.

 

[antidonkey]

Ben is at best an OK actor. If the script is good enough he'll be good enough....not great but serviceable in the role. I'll hold off final judgement until the film comes out but I don't have high hopes.

 

[Atmos Duality]

He can't be worse than Clooney.

What, you didn't like the Bat-Nipples or Bat-Credit Card?

Oh, I don't have nearly as much disdain for Batman & Robin as most. (or the Nostalgia Critic)
I actually find it charming in an absurd way.

 

[medv4380]

If Ben's there to help direct the Batman side of the story to give it more of a mystery tone like he did with Argo then it's great. If Ben's there to fill a roll, and just play his part like with Dare Devil then it's a bad idea. His Dare Devil roll was already a "dark" version a-la Frank Miller, and him doing another roll in the same vain without more control to make sure it's done right will come off as some goth kids dream again.

 

[MCerberus]

He can't be worse than Clooney.

What, you didn't like the Bat-Nipples or Bat-Credit Card?

Oh, I don't have nearly as much disdain for Batman & Robin as most. (or the Nostalgia Critic)
I actually find it charming in an absurd way.

But... they cast a tragic figure who would give up the world just to save his wife and is both sympathetic and intelligent...

with THE GOVERNATOR.
That's almost as bad as having the perfect Riddler and not make a decent script for the movie.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

And...why does Joss Whedon's opinion matter in this? Pretty much all casting for Batman characters has been criticized and let's face it, people quickly change their minds once the actual trailers start coming out. You'd think people would recognize patterns by now

 

[Storm Dragon]

Affleck will nail it seeing as Bruce Wayne is the actual character. Batman is just a costume.

Debatable, depends on whose writing him. For example,

Spoiler

in an episode of Batman Beyond,Shriek I belive, villian of the week Shriek was attempting to kill Bruce Wayne. He did this by using some future tech to make Wayne hear voices telling him to kill himself. Wayne is sure he's still sane, and there's the usual investigate/track/takedown. At the end, Terry asks him why he was so sure the voices weren't him. Wayne replies "(The voice) kept calling me Bruce. Thats not how I think of myself."

Personally, I've always prefered thinking he is Batman and Wayne is mostly a cover, I just find that more fun.

I think I heard that there was a story in the comics about the whole "Bruce Wayne is the disguise" thing that ended with Batman realizing that thinking of either identity as more real than the other was a bad thing. Don't quote me on this, though.

 

[Atmos Duality]

But... they cast a tragic figure who would give up the world just to save his wife and is both sympathetic and intelligent...

with THE GOVERNATOR.
That's almost as bad as having the perfect Riddler and not make a decent script for the movie.

...Or letting Tim Burton's grimdark id run completely wild in the second film.
I swear, if he made Gotham look any darker, it'd resemble Venice circa 1357 (Bubonic Plague and all).

Granted, I still like Batman Returns, but seriously. There's grimdark, then there's Grimdark, and then there's BURTON-GRIMDARK. The slivers of light and sanity amidst all that darkness is what makes Burton's first Batman film great for me.

 

[happyninja42]

I'm not really invested either way. Unlike some I don't root my personal well being in a movie or it's choice of cast. If it's good I'll eventually watch it and enjoy it. If not, then I won't lose any sleep over it. The cultural concept of Batman is rooted deeply enough into us that it will survive another bad (if that is what happens) portrayal. It's survived Adam West's campiness, it's survived the BDSM I Wish I Was Still Doing Edward Scissorhands gloominess of Tim Burton (who I've never cared for), the flashy and silly retro Adam West campiness of Shumaker, and the negative aspects (of which there were thankfully few) of the Christopher Nolan trilogy.

Batman is stronger than Ben Afleck people, he will endure even if the movie bombs.

 

[bandit0802]

Am I the only one who saw the director's cut of Daredevil? It was much better, and if that had been released, the movie would've been much more successful. Ben Affleck did a great job in the role. The problem was the editing. It was cut down into a darker, more adult version of Spider-Man. So, I was sad to see he was never gonna play Daredevil again, and I think he can pull off Batman.

It's the writers/editors/producers I'm worried about. Man of Steel had so much potential.

 

[prpshrt]

As long it has nothing to do with the dark knight trilogy I think he'd do an amazing job.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Yep, I definitely think people are being way to hard on Affleck as Batman when you know... Zack Snyder is still directing and the movie is called "Batman versus Superman"... I mean seriously, I think this movie is going to suck... but for reasons completely unrelated to casting.

At what point did they already reveal the movie's official title to be that?

I have nothing against Ben Affleck. I think he'll make a great Bruce Wayne. The thing that bothers me is the idea for this movie. Why Superman vs Batman when there's so many better things they can do with Superman?

Easiest way to make money. Somewhat obvious if you even think about it. And considering the amount of attention the movie already has, I think they're pulling it off quite well.

I'm actually interested in this. Affleck's not a great actor, granted, but I think a lot of it depends on which direction they choose to go with Batman this time. The last thing I'd want is a rehash of the Nolan-verse. We had the gothic intimidating Batman of the early days with the Burton movies, we had the campy colourful version of the Adam West series with the Schumacher movies, and we had the scowling sociopath of the newer comics with Nolan. The door's open for an entirely new kind of Batman. Maybe something in the style of the animated series?

 

[Eternal_Lament]

I don't really mind that Affleck was cast--I'm worried though that if the film turns to shit that he'll be blamed, regardless of what the issue actually is. And again, Affleck being cast, even if people see it as a problem, is probably the least of the film's possible issues. The only thing I'd like to bring up, not as a point for or against him, is this: we know that DC is planning for a Justice League movie, and that to a certain extent the Man of Steel movies will play into that...does anyone actually see Ben Affleck sticking around for several movies to play the role? Looking at his current flow within Hollywood, I don't imagine he'd be willing to take that much time out for this, and if nothing else it'll be a weird thing to see Affleck in one film while some other actor plays the rest

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

Spoiler: I find this webcomic to be highly relevant...

Anywho, I say give the guy a chance. I can almost guarantee that Ben won't be the worst Batman we've seen. He has some great movies and I think, providing he's given workable material, this could turn out well.

For those saying he doesn't look like Batman...

Spoiler: I mean, c'mon. Really?

The guy's gonna be wearing a cowl. Besides, you're completely missing the point. Batman is an idea, a symbol. It shouldn't really matter if his chin looks good in black. If you think about it, you'll really be seeing Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and his jawline as Batman.