Batfleck

Scott Hardie | August 25, 2013
Any impressions upon Ben Affleck being cast as Batman in the next Superman movie (and presumably beyond)?

I heard speculation that they're going to spend much of the film spinning Superman as an reckless danger to society, and slipping Batman into the heroic role, trying to outwit him and contain him and eventually appeal to his better nature. Thus, they need a Batman who demonstrates charisma and likeability more than dark brooding intensity, and Affleck makes sense in that regard.

Every actor who's been cast as Batman has faced initial derision, and yet most have turned out fine, some even quite well. You can pick on Joel Schumacher's craptastic two films in the series, but Val Kilmer and George Clooney were not among their problems.

I'm surprised at how much the joke of also casting Matt Damon as Robin keeps coming up. It's been seventeen years since Good Will Hunting. Why do people still so strongly associate Damon and Affleck together? They also made Dogma and Project Greenlight, but that was where the partnership ended. I stopped thinking of them as a pair long ago if I ever did, and so I'm continually surprised whenever one is mentioned in the context of the other as though they're inseparable. It's like poor Keanu Reeves: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is now twenty-four years old, but to many people, Reeves will forever just be a dim-witted, slack-jawed stoner type, no matter how many other roles he plays.

Erik Bates | August 26, 2013
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