The Man of Steel sequel doesn't even have an official title yet, but it is already under heavy criticism for its casting choices. The first controversy came with the selection of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Now, producer Michael Uslan and director Zach Snyder are defending the decision.

According to EP Daily, Uslan has produced "every Batman movie" since 1989's Batman, which was directed by Tim Burton. So how could he have allowed such a questionable actor into the Bat Cave? Uslan said learned from another unlikely Batman: Michael Keaton.

"I lead the charge from the first time I heard Tim was thinking of hiring Michael Keaton to play Batman," Uslan told EP Daily. "I'd go, 'Oh my god, all the work, I've put in all these years to do a dark and serious Batman. He's going to hire a comedian!' I could envision the posters: 'Mr. Mom is Batman,' but then he explained his vision. He had a vision, and he was right."

The producer says that the trick behind creating a believable, respectable Batman is to focus on developing Bruce Wayne.

"If you're trying to do a serious, dark superhero, people have to believe in Bruce Wayne as that obsessed driven guy, to the point maybe of almost being psychotic," Uslan explained. "A guy who would get dressed up as a bat and do what he did."

"Ben brings an interesting counterweight to the performance of Henry [Cavill] in the role of Superman," Snyder told Popcorn, a French magazine. "He has the experience necessary to paint the picture of an older and more advised man than Clark Kent who bears the scars of a seasoned vigilante while retaining the charm that Bruce Wayne deploys when present in the world."

Uslan cites Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight as another Batman casting choice that blew surprised viewers away. Recalling Affleck's "really, really, great quality of work" in Hollywoodland, The Town and Argo, Uslan believes Affleck will be another pleasant surprise.

"Again, I'll go back to what Tim said in the beginning: It's all about Bruce Wayne, and when you focus on it, Bruce Wayne, maybe in his mid-40s, what's he going to be feeling?" Uslan said. "What's he going to be thinking? What does he have on his plate to deal with? I just couldn't be more excited about it."

'What will Bruce Wayne be like this time?' is a question on a lot of fans' minds. According to Snyder, the Man of Steel sequel's Batman will be something new, yet influenced by The Dark Knight Returns, a 1986 comic book mini-series by Frank Miller.

"But the comic book will influence the history of Batman versus Superman, on which the writer David S. Goyer and myself will work," Snyder explained.

Batman vs. Superman hits theaters May 6, 2016.

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