Dani Strehle
Content Editor
Ben Affleck will not let fans and naysayers rain on his parade. He was warned from the onset that fan reaction was going to be intense, and more than likely not flattering, when the announcement that he would be the newest Batman broke.
When Affleck visited Jimmy Fallon, he talked about how he got the role, and how he feels about the fan reactions. “They called me up and said, ‘Do you wanna do this?’ And I thought, ‘Well, I’m not 25, man. Are you sure about this?’” After grabbing some details from director Zach Snyder, Affleck couldn’t resist. I mean, who could? But studio executives were worried that he wasn’t fully prepared for what was sure to be an overwhelming fan response.
Affleck said that the higher-ups sat down with him and said, “Listen, we want to talk to you because people go through this process and it can be trying…We want to show you some of the reactions that past people who have been cast have gotten, like on the internet and stuff,’” Affleck remembered. “[They showed me] people who were in these movies who did a great job and [commenters would] say, ‘Kill him!’ You can’t say that before a movie comes out. It doesn’t matter what you think then, it matters what you think when you see the movie.”
Affleck, who, at 41, has been around the block and has already suffered from his fair share of critical failure (Gigli,anyone?), felt that he was prepared for any possibility. He apparently passed some of that cool, calmness onto wife Jennifer Garner, who also was not initially worried about the backlash. “The people from the studio were like, ‘We’re thrilled! And listen, we want to talk to you, because people go through this process and it can be a little trying.”
Affleck’s reps and friends gave him some friendly advice and suggested he not go on the internet until the news died down. But, he couldn’t resist. “I said, ‘I’m a big boy. I can handle any snub. I can handle anything. I said, ‘I handle s–t.’ I’m very tough. So, I saw the announcement, I look down the thing and I look at the first comment. The first comment goes, ‘Nooooooooooooo.’ I’m like, ‘We’re going to be Luddites for a while, kids.’”
Affleck is especially jazzed to share this experience with his three children. “Every kid should see their dad as a superhero, right? It’s so awesome, man,” he grinned. “I’m so excited.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t one of those naysayers. When I picture Batman, Affleck’s face isn’t even my periphery. But who knows? Maybe he’ll surprise us all. Anybody that can bounce back from Gigli and Daredevil has to be at least somewhat talented, right?
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