At least the previous Batmen of the world seem to agree that Affleck is the man for the job. Admittedly, Michael Keaton, literally stalked by paparazzi, offered up that Affleck was “gonna be great” with the air of someone who, ultimately, didn’t care either way, but former Batman Val Kilmer and Adam West both offered support via Twitter, with West even adding a practical bit of advice for Affleck: “With the cape and cowl comes great responsibility (and lots of heat). Bring deodorant.”
While George Clooney expressed surprise that the press corps at the Venice Film Festival would rather ask questions about the political situation on Syria than Affleck’s casting, more support — and some much needed perspective — came from Affleck’s long-time friend Matt Damon, who told the Times of India that Affleck “will be terrific” in the role, adding “You know, he’s not playing King Lear. It’s Batman! Certainly within his skill set.” Avengers director Joss Whedon agreed, tweeting “Affleck’ll crush it. He’s got the chops, he’s got the chin — just needs the material.”
Other celebrity fans have come out of the woodwork, as well; Kevin Smith podcasted that Affleck “has loved Batman going as far back as I can remember,” and would “honour the character,” while comedian Patton Oswalt
No matter how many times you post your stupid “Fire Ben Affleck from Playing Batman” petition, I’m going to delete it and block you. Take a deep breath, and think for a second: yeah, the dude’s made some bad films. Every actor has. Every actor does. Every actor will. It’s a huge, arcing career and NO ONE has control over where it goes. Movie to movie, year to year, you’re collaborating and trying and risking and, sometimes, yes — failing […]
A Batman portrayed by someone who’s tasted humiliation and a reversal of all personal valences — kind of like Grant Morrison’s “Zen warrior” version of Batman, post-ARKHAM ASYLUM, who was, in the words of Superman, “…the most dangerous man on the planet”? Think for a second and admit that Ben Affleck is closer to THAT top-shelf iteration of The Dark Knight than pretty much anyone in Hollywood right now.
General, people haven’t been entirely supportive of Ben Affleck following the announcement that he has been picked to play Batman opposite Henry Cavill’s Superman in the 2015 Man Of Steel sequel.
But after Matt Damon spoke out against the tide of internet naysayers, another of Ben’s friends has come to his defence – indie director Kevin Smith.
Smith has said that Affleck is a true Batman fan who loves the work of graphic illustrator and Dark Night creator Frank Miller, and that Ben’s Batman knowledge will enable him to play the role.
Speaking on the Hollywood Babble-On podcast, Smith said that Affleck would “honour the character…this dude has loved Batman going back as far as I can remember.”
He explained that Ben had built a Batcave on his property. He brings me into the room and goes, ‘Look at this.’ There’s an office room and this beautiful bookcase – he reached under and he clicked something and all of a sudden the bookcase opened,” Smith said. “I was like, ‘No! You built a f***ing Batcave?’ And he was like, ‘No I built a Batcave entrance!’ When you went in behind the bookcase, it was a panic room.”
Smith even defended Affleck’s much derided appearance in 2003’s Daredevil, saying “He only did Daredevil because he loved Frank Miller’s (graphic novel) Dark Knight Returns. He’s like, ‘They’re never going to make another Batman,’ because this was after Batman had nipples,” Smith said. “So he was like, ‘Daredevil’s cool, and Miller wrote him as well’.”
