Fan outcry over Ben Affleck playing Batman appears to have subsided a bit from a deafening screech to a dull roar, as people are hopefully now spending their time worrying about things that are significantly more important. We still have yet to hear from Affleck himself about taking on the iconic character in director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel follow-up, but Affleck’s longtime friend Matt Damon has now chimed in with thoughts on how he thinks Affleck will do in the cape and cowl. In the process, Damon addressed the harsh internet reaction to the news, dashed hopes of him playing Robin, and talked about The Bourne Legacy. Hit the jump to read on.
Speaking with the Times of India (via CS), Damon unsurprisingly had encouraging things to say about Affleck playing Batman:
"I think it will be great. It will be terrific. I know there are a lot of people grousing on the internet. I just think it's kind of funny. You know, he's not playing King Lear. It's Batman! Certainly within his skill set. If anybody saw Argo or The Town, and all the work he's been doing lately, it's way more nuanced and interesting and way more difficult than Batman! Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people. Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that."
As for those that have suggested Damon play Robin to Affleck’s Batman, the actor laughed off the idea:
"I am a little older than Ben. I never saw Robin as older than Batman. Somebody sent me a picture actually (of his face photoshopped on Robin's body and Ben's on Batman's). It was really funny. But it's safe to say I won't be Robin."
While Damon didn’t address recent rumors that he may be returning to the Bourne franchise with director Paul Greengrass, he reiterated that he has no ill will towards Jeremy Renner or The Bourne Legacy as a whole:
"They were just trying to revitalise that franchise and I didn't mind at all. It didn't have anything to do with the movie that I made. It makes sense for a studio to keep those franchises as alive as they can, it makes business sense for them. I don't begrudge anybody that. I am a huge fan of Jeremy. I don't equate my Bourne movie with his. He didn't play the part of Jason Bourne. It's a totally different thing."
Damon can currently be seen in theaters in Elysium and will appear in Terry Gilliam's upcoming The Zero Theorem and George Clooney's WWII film The Monuments Men.
