Ben Affleck Batman Petition: Actor Says He Can Handle Fan Critcism
Ben Affleck has faced a lot of criticism from fans after it was announced that he would portray Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Affleck however, says he can handle it.
On Monday, Affleck, 41, appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." He discussed fans' reactions to his casting which includes a petition on Change.org with over 93, 000 signatures calling for Affleck to be replaced.
Affleck said that he is used to being shunned.
"I'm a big boy. If I can handle an Oscar snub, I can handle anything," Affleck said in reference to when he was not included in this year's Best Director category even though his film Argo won Best Picture.
The actor-director was even prepared in advance for fans' negative reaction. Warner Bros., who is producing the film, pulled Affleck aside to warn him of what was likely to come.
"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.'" Affleck said. "They said, 'We want to show you some of the reactions that past cast members have got on the Internet.'"
Despite the warning, Affleck could not resist logging onto to the World Wide Web the day his casting was announced.
"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, 'Noooooooo!,'" Affleck recalled.
Fans were not the only ones skeptical about Affleck portraying the dashing billionaire Bruce Wayne, previous played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and, most recently, Christian Bale.
"I thought, 'I'm not 25, man, and are you sure about this?' And they said, 'Come down, we want to show you what we're doing,' and it was incredible," Affleck said.
Meanwhile, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , who played the Robin-esque character of Officer Blake in the Dark Knight Rises (the final film in Nolan's trilogy) thinks Affleck will fit into the Batsuit well.
"That's gonna be great," Gordon-Levitt told E! News.
E! News continued to press Gordon-Levitt about his opinions, citing the amount of fan backlash that came after the announcement. Still, Gordon-Levitt seemed to be on-board with Affleck's new role.
"Oh, but it's gonna be good," Gordon-Levitt said. "I think it's gonna be good."
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