Yesterday we heard from Superman himself Henry Cavill about Ben Affleck joining him as The Dark Knight in 2015 for Warner Bros.’ eagerly-anticipated DC Comics team-up Batman vs. Superman, and now Affleck has spoken to Entertainment Weekly about the release of the extended edition of Argo, during which the conversation shifted to the Man of Steel sequel, which is gearing up to go into production early next year.
“Well, I don’t want to get too far afield and I’m sure I’ll have time to talk about Batman down the road,” said Affleck when asked about Kevin Smith’s comments about seeing the actor in the Batsuit. “What I’ll say is that I really like Zack Snyder. From what I’ve seen of what’s Zack is doing, it’s made me very excited. One of the nice things about being an actor in that movie is they show you all the stuff before anyone else gets to see it. So all the sort of world-creation, and the take on the character and the other characters is really exciting. And at the end of the day, the truth is it’s really directors that make movies work or not — especially these kinds of movies, where it’s about the whole world, and a rising tide lifts all ships. And if it all has integrity, if it all has a sense of realism, then it works. And if it doesn’t, than it doesn’t really matter what everyone’s doing [on the screen] because they just look like a bunch of Mexican wrestlers in suits.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Playboy (via Latino-Review), Affleck explained why he agreed to take on the role, how the character will differ from the previous incarnation from Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan, and the reaction of the internet to his controversial casting: “It was a unique take on Batman that was still consistent with the mythology. It made me excited. All of a sudden I had a reading of the character. When people see it, it will make more sense than it does now or even than it did to me initially. I don’t want to give away too much, but the idea for the new Batman is to redefine him in a way that doesn’t compete with the Bale and Chris Nolan Batman but still exists within the Batman canon. It will be an older and wiser version, particularly as he relates to Henry Cavill’s Superman character… I understand I’m at a disadvantage with the internet. If I thought the result would be another Daredevil, I’d be out there picketing myself. [laughs] Why would I make the movie if I didn’t think it was going to be good and that I can be good in it? The only movie I actually regret is Daredevil. It just kills me. I love that story, that character, and the fact that it got f*cked up the way it did stays with me. Maybe that’s part of the motivation to do Batman.”
Batman vs. Superman is set for release on July 17th 2015 with Affleck and Cavill joined in the cast by Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White.
Originally published December 3, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
