Affleck Named New Caped Crusader

Written by Jon Williams

We reported early in July that Christian Bale would not return as Batman after three acclaimed starring turns as the superhero in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. While we knew then who would not be playing Batman, what we didn’t know was who would be playing the iconic role.

Now that question has been answered. The Internet, particularly social media, was aflame Thursday night with news that Ben Affleck has been tabbed to follow Bale as the next actor to wear the cowl and cape. Affleck will join Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill in director Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman, set to debut in theatres in 2015.

This won’t be Affleck’s first time portraying a superhero on the silver screen. He played the title role in 2003’s Daredevil, a Marvel Comics character whose adaptation failed to live up to expectations. With a slew of highly regarded acting credits on his resume, though, including Dazed and Confused and Good Will Hunting early in his career and The Town and Argo more recently, hopes are high that Affleck has the grit and talent to bring tormented billionaire Bruce Wayne and his alter ego to life on the screen.

Although the role was just announced last night, it has already altered Affleck’s career path. He had to drop out of his plan to write and direct the upcoming adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Stand (already adapted once into a TV miniseries in 1994). That task now falls to Scott Cooper, best known for Crazy Heart, which starred Jeff Bridges as a fading country music star. Affleck will, however, continue work on his adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel Live by Night, as well as his starring turn in the adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s hugely popular Gone Girl.