When it was first announced that Ben Affleck would be the next Batman in the sequel to Man of Steel, the negative backlash was like a tidal wave from fans. The Argo director became the target of an almost unprecedented negative casting reaction on the internet (see #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck).
So how did Ben handle the haters? Last night he told Jimmy Fallon, after the two discussed the joys of fatherhood, that he knew it was coming and that he was ready for all the negativity.
“The people from the studio said, ‘We want to talk to you because people go through this process and it can be a little trying’. They said, ‘We want to show you some of the reactions that past cast members have got on the internet.’ So they send me like… people who were in these movies that did a great job and these things (comments) were like, ‘KILL HIMMMMMMM!!!!!'”
“I’m a big boy. If I can handle an Oscar snub, I can handle anything,” referenced Affleck to not getting a Best Director nod for Argo, which won for Best Film. “I saw the announcement, I look at the first comment and it’s like, ‘Ben Affleck is going to be Batman’ and the first one goes, ‘Noooooooooooooo!'”
Ben seems to have an affable attitude about all of it and is amped for the role regardless of the overwhelmingly angry reaction. He stated that he’ll accept the judgments after folks have seen the film due out in 2015.
In defense of Affleck, Gawker pointed out that much of “the internet” didn’t like Heath Ledger’s casting as The Joker either. Later, his Oscar-winning role became one of the most critically acclaimed performances in recent cinematic history.
