Ben Affleck Talks about BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN and His Initial Hesistance to Play Batman

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Ben Affleck Talks about His Initial Hesitance to Play Batman in BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN

By Matt Goldberg

Published Oct 25, 2013

Ben Affleck talks about his initial hesitance to play Batman in Batman vs. Superman, but was convinced by the challenge and Zack Snyder's vision.

Ben Affleck took a large amount of unwarranted flack when he was cast as Batman in Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman. But Affleck, being a smart guy, was more concerned not with the backlash, which will likely subside since everyone who complained will still see the movie, but with how to play the character following Christian Bale's take in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. In a recent interview, Affleck said the hesitance became excitement at the prospect of doing something new while still holding to the traditions of the character. I'm curious to see what those "traditions" entail beyond the cape and cowl since the character has been re-imagined so many times over this 74-year history.

Hit the jump for more. The film also stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, and Lawrence Fishburne. The untitled Batman vs. Superman opens July 17, 2015.

Speaking to Al Norton and 411Mania.com [via CS], Affleck explained the factors that were involved in deciding to play the iconic character:

Do you remember your first thought when the idea of you playing Batman was originally presented to you and was there a tipping point in your decision making process, a moment where you started to think, "I really want to do this"?

BEN AFFLECK: Initially I was reluctant as I felt I didn't fit the traditional mold but once Zack showed me the concept, and that it would be both different from the great movies that Chris and Christian made but still in keeping with tradition I was excited. Doing something different and new is always tricky and part of the thrill and the risk is that initially it confounds expectations. The truth is, it's the movie and the execution of it is what all the actors depend on and I believe in Zack's vision.

Affleck also confirmed the Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara's description of the new Batman as "tired and weary and seasoned and been doing it for awhile", but the actor wouldn't say more than that because he wants "to capitalize on what is new about this iteration by having it be a surprise to the audience."