This is not a drill, people. Despite the widespread panic this is generating all over the internet, I'm surprisingly unworried. To wit...
* Unless Christopher Nolan is firmly in control of the product as director rather than supervising producer, there is no reason to any movie based around a DC Comics character will be anything more than 'meh.' For example, there was Man Of Steel, which was thoroughly meh despite all the hype and the hopes that it would reboot the entire DC comics universe. Zack Snyder doth not a great movie make. So really, I had low expectations anyway about this new Batman.
* Along those same lines, the role of Bruce Wayne is a very difficult one to cast exactly right. You need someone who can play haunted and tormented (the 'real' Bruce), coldly smart and professorial (since this is how Batman always comes off to the rest of the Justice League) and also believably goofy for the 'playboy Bruce Wayne' public persona. Christian Bale pretty much nailed it, Michael Keaton sorta got there and Kevin Conroy at least got the voice and persona down on the Batman cartoons, but it's nevertheless a very tricky role. While we can joke about Affleck being a C-plus actor at best, there are lots of great actors that simply couldn't handle the role either. So there was a 95% chance that Warner/DC would screw up the casting anyway, ergo it might as well go to one of the funnier possible options so we can all get a few laughs out of it.
For instance, look at this quote from Snyder in the Variety piece.
* And really, I'm just glad that we can all get back to mocking Ben Affleck. He turned into an actual respected director over the last few years and he was deserving of that praise...yet boy, taking the piss out of this guy just feels like the natural order of the world has been restored, eh? It didn't take much, either. Six hours ago Affleck was as respected as ever, and then immediately after the news broke he was back to being the ol' Gigli clown again. Let's be honest, even in Affleck's respected phase, this is still the guy that cast himself as the lead in Argo and as the too cool/too smart/loved by all the ladies lead in the The Town. This guy is clearly not lacking in ego so it's fun to take him down a few pegs at all times.
* Affleck's presence means we could get Titus Welliver (who's been in all three of Affleck's directorial efforts) as a villain. Good lord, Welliver as THE JOKER would absolutely melt my brain. If nothing else it'd at least be a complete departure from Ledger.
* Or, you just know that some clueless Warners exec pitched the idea of Matt Damon as the Joker, a suggestion that even made Affleck embarrassed in its obviousness.
* Unless Christopher Nolan is firmly in control of the product as director rather than supervising producer, there is no reason to any movie based around a DC Comics character will be anything more than 'meh.' For example, there was Man Of Steel, which was thoroughly meh despite all the hype and the hopes that it would reboot the entire DC comics universe. Zack Snyder doth not a great movie make. So really, I had low expectations anyway about this new Batman.
* Along those same lines, the role of Bruce Wayne is a very difficult one to cast exactly right. You need someone who can play haunted and tormented (the 'real' Bruce), coldly smart and professorial (since this is how Batman always comes off to the rest of the Justice League) and also believably goofy for the 'playboy Bruce Wayne' public persona. Christian Bale pretty much nailed it, Michael Keaton sorta got there and Kevin Conroy at least got the voice and persona down on the Batman cartoons, but it's nevertheless a very tricky role. While we can joke about Affleck being a C-plus actor at best, there are lots of great actors that simply couldn't handle the role either. So there was a 95% chance that Warner/DC would screw up the casting anyway, ergo it might as well go to one of the funnier possible options so we can all get a few laughs out of it.
For instance, look at this quote from Snyder in the Variety piece.
“Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne,” Snyder said in a statement. “I can’t wait to work with him.”Everything about this statement is hilarious. From Ben Affleck apparently having "chops" to being capable of "layered portrayals" to Snyder apparently thinking that Bruce Wayne the character is supposed to be charming in any way. Bruce Wayne is not James Bond. Bruce Wayne is either a) a dark and troubled soul and a virtual recluse in Gotham or b) an outgoing party boy, male Paris Hilton type in order to throw off suspicions. This is going to be SUCH a misfire that I'll laugh all the way.
* And really, I'm just glad that we can all get back to mocking Ben Affleck. He turned into an actual respected director over the last few years and he was deserving of that praise...yet boy, taking the piss out of this guy just feels like the natural order of the world has been restored, eh? It didn't take much, either. Six hours ago Affleck was as respected as ever, and then immediately after the news broke he was back to being the ol' Gigli clown again. Let's be honest, even in Affleck's respected phase, this is still the guy that cast himself as the lead in Argo and as the too cool/too smart/loved by all the ladies lead in the The Town. This guy is clearly not lacking in ego so it's fun to take him down a few pegs at all times.
* Affleck's presence means we could get Titus Welliver (who's been in all three of Affleck's directorial efforts) as a villain. Good lord, Welliver as THE JOKER would absolutely melt my brain. If nothing else it'd at least be a complete departure from Ledger.
* Or, you just know that some clueless Warners exec pitched the idea of Matt Damon as the Joker, a suggestion that even made Affleck embarrassed in its obviousness.
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