Ben Affleck Opens Up About Internet Backlash on Batman Casting

Ben Affleck spoke publicly Monday for the first time about the public uproar over his casting as Batman in the upcoming “Man of Steel” sequel, saying the studio tried to prepare him for the backlash that would ensue.

Internet commenters were aghast that Warner Bros. cast Affleck in a leading role, and studio honchos warned the star to be prepared for the fallout.

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“They said, ‘Just don’t use the Internet for a couple days,’” Affleck said on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." “And I said … ‘I handle s—!'”

So when the news was made official, the writer, director, and actor went online to see how it was playing out. Affleck told Fallon, “I saw the announcement, I look down the thing. The first comment? ... ‘Noooooooooo!’”

The Oscar winner told Fallon he had misgivings about the role himself.

“They called me up and said, ‘Do you want to do this?’ and I thought, I’m not 25, are you sure?” said the 41-year-old screen star.

When the studio started talking about the backlash, Affleck said, “I’m a big boy. If I can handle an [Oscars] snub, I can handle anything,” referring to his exclusion from the Best Director category for last year’s “Argo,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

He would not go into detail about the upcoming film, however, except to say the character will be in line with Christian Bale’s interpretation in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy.

“It’s so awesome, I’m so excited,” Affleck told Fallon. “He (Zack Snyder) has an incredible take on it. I thought this was a brilliant way to do this.”

“Man of Steel 2” stars Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman and is set for release in the summer of 2015. Reports are now surfacing that Justin Bieber will play the role of Robin. Internet commenters aren’t happy.

“If the rumor that Justin Bieber is going to be the new robin is true, I’ve OFFICIALLY lost all hope in the world,” tweeted @NadineVarsovia.



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