Holy Big Year For Ben! Affleck Set To Play Batman in ‘Man of Steel’ Sequel

Adam Pockross
·Content Producer
Ben Affleck as Batman: Hey, Bat-Fans, Calm the *%!& Down!

"I'm Batman" has a much better ring to it than "I'm Daredevil," or at least we all hope it does.

That's certainly what Warner Brothers hopes as Ben Affleck, the man who infamously donned latex as "Daredevil" in 2003 will be doing so once again, presumably, as he's been cast to play Batman in Zack Snyder's hotly anticipated "Man of Steel" sequel.

[Related: Who Will Be The Next Batman?]

In a statement released today, Warner Brothers dropped this bat bomb: "Ending weeks of speculation, Ben Affleck has been set to star as Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne. Affleck and filmmaker Zack Snyder will create an entirely new incarnation of the character in Snyder’s as-yet-untitled project—bringing Batman and Superman together for the first time on the big screen and continuing the director’s vision of their universe, which he established in 'Man of Steel.'"

Arguably the biggest news coming out of Comic-Con 2013 came when Zack Snyder officially announced Batman would be showing up in the 2015 sequel to this summer's successful reboot. "I'm so excited to begin working again with Henry Cavill in the world we created," said Snyder, "And I can't wait to expand the DC Universe in this next chapter. Let’s face it, it's beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest super heroes in the world," said Snyder.

Now we know: Cavill will be comparing capes with Affleck. And let's face it, Snyder's right: it is beyond mythological.

While Affleck's name didn't come up on our shortlist, and certainly the twittersphere is erupting with hate as we speak, we still think we owe Ben the benefit of the doubt. The guy has made quite the comeback lately, capped off with his Oscar winning best picture "Argo."

Aside from possessing a couple of Oscars and a great chin, Affleck also has some other key details going for him as he goes up against Superman.

[Related: Batman Set to Face Off Against Superman for ‘Man of Steel’ Sequel in 2015]

1. He'll know his competition. In "Hollywoodland" (2006), Affleck already played Superman before, or at least he played George Reeves, the man who played Superman on TV. So that should help.

2. In that film, Affleck starred opposite Diane Lane, who is now Superman's mom. Can you imagine if Bruce Wayne dated Ma Kent in the sequel? Is there any better smack talk than telling Superman you're his stepdad?

3. Certainly Affleck will learn from his "Daredevil" past, as that super hero flick wasn't exactly a fan favorite. And Affleck can also take a lesson or two on how not to do a super hero movie from his good buddy George Clooney, who played Batman in Joel Schumacher's ill-fated "Batman & Robin" (1997).

Regardless of all these marks in his favor, Affleck will have big boots to fill as Christian Bale's replacement. But we don't call him Big Ben for nothing, right?

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