Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice isn’t Ben Affleck’s first superhero rodeo, as he famously played the Man Without Fear in 2003′s widely criticized Daredevil.
With director Zack Snyder’s Dawn of Justice, he returns to the genre with higher expectations and even more fan pressure than ever. But to hear Affleck tell it, he’s more than ready for the challenge.
“Before I took the role, Warner Bros. gave me a bunch of past reactions to casting and said, ‘Are you sure you want to get into this? This is part and parcel of these movies now. There’s a lot of active fans with a lot of opinions,’” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “To me, having been through a certain amount of that, it doesn’t really… Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I wouldn’t have taken the part if I didn’t trust my instincts in terms of the filmmaking.”
“I think Chris Terrio wrote a terrific script,” he continues. “Zack’s a great visual director. And there’s an interesting take. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I could do it. I have the benefit of a lot of that understanding. But also, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That’s a big part of this international sport.”
Affleck recognizes there’s a great responsibility to get these characters right, because titans like Batman and Superman represent “the American myths.”
“There are the Greek myths and these are the American myths,” he says. “The American myths are these superheroes. People care about ‘em a lot. And it’s incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie’s all that matters.”
Opening March 25, 2016, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice also stars Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.
CBR by Josh Wigler