After directing three Batman films, Christopher Nolan opted to take a step back and serve as executive producer on Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Even though that means Nolan isn’t as deeply involved in the production this time around, he’s still got an opinion on Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman.

Hit the jump to check out Nolan’s first thoughts after finding out Affleck was interested in the role.  Batman v Superman hits theaters on March 25, 2016 and also stars Henry CavillGal GadotJesse EisenbergAmy AdamsLaurence FishburneJason MomoaHolly HunterScoot McNairy and Jeremy Irons.

Here’s what Nolan told The Daily Beast about the choice to go with Affleck for the role:

“I’m only involved in that project in an advisory capacity as an executive producer, so I’m not involved in the day-to-day.  When they told me that Ben was interested in doing it, I thought, ‘How thrilling!’  This is the guy who just won Best Picture as a director and as an actor, and I thought it would be a great thing that he’d be willing to do this.  I think the guy is incredibly talented and I’m very excited to see what Zack and Ben do together.”

Affleck’s now got two Academy Award wins to his name, one for Argo and one for the Good Will Hunting screenplay, so clearly he is a very talented guy, but will those accolades help him nail the role of Batman?  I’d like to think someone with a thorough understanding of writing and directing would be able to use that knowledge to bolster his work as an actor, but Affleck’s had some rough patches between those two wins, so who knows?  (Although perhaps the failure of certain films can’t be attributed to his personal work.)

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Image via Warner Bros.