The casting
of Hollywood A-lister Ben Affleck as the new Batman sparked fan outrage, with
petitions calling for the coveted role to be recast and widespread howling on
Twitter.
Warner Bros.
announced Thursday that Affleck -- who earlier this year was the darling of
Tinseltown when his "Argo" took home the Oscar for best picture --
would next don the Dark Knight's cape.
Affleck's
debut as the savior of Gotham will come in a film slated for release in 2015,
and also to feature Henry Cavill as Superman. Zack Snyder is to direct.
The Batman
recast is not the first. Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and, most
recently, Christian Bale, have all played the role.
But fans
cried foul, with more than 20,000 people signing a petition at change.org
calling on Warner Bros. to ditch the 41-year-old star.
"His
acting skill is not even close to being believable as Bruce Wayne and he won't
do the role justice. He's not built, nor is he intimidating enough for the role
of Batman," the petition says.
"His
portrayal of Daredevil was atrocious and he's not remotely close to an action
star. Please find someone else."
Another
petition was posted on the White House website for several hours before being
removed.
On Twitter,
the hashtag #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck was trending. Many Internet users
proposed other actors, from Josh Brolin to Affleck pal Matt Damon to --
bizarrely -- Meryl Streep.
Some
defended the choice, including Travis Langley, a professor of psychology and
author of "Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight."
"Just
remember: 'Michael Keaton can't play Batman.' 'Heath Ledger can't play the
Joker.' 'Anne Hathaway can't play Catwoman,'" he wrote on Twitter,
referring to other casting moves in the Batman universe that were later
praised.
In the
industry daily Variety, film critic Justin Chang noted that while Affleck had
successfully reinvented himself as a director with "The Town" and
"Argo," his acting disasters such as "Daredevil" and
"Gigli" remain fresh in the minds of many.
But he gave
the actor the benefit of the doubt, writing: "Ben Affleck has impressed us
most as an actor by projecting not gravity but vulnerability, and vulnerability
is an essential, often-overlooked quality in any bigscreen superhero."
.jpg)
.jpg)
