14 DAY TRIAL // No other actor knows better than Ben Affleck what it’s like to be the target of a massive backlash online for something that you have absolutely no control of. When Warner Bros. announced that he would be playing Batman in Zack Snyder’s upcoming “Man of Steel” sequel, “Batman V. Superman,” Affleck became persona non-grata with many a fan.
And their nasty comments were anything but easy on the ears or eyes. Inevitably, some of those reached Affleck and his camp, but he’s still playing it cool: speaking with Matt Lauer on The Today Show, the actor says he understands fans who reacted this violently to his Batman.
The Batfleck backlash was to be expected
Affleck is now promoting a new movie, the much anticipated “Gone Girl,” based on the best-selling crime thriller of the same name. It opens in theaters this Friday and it’s bound to cause some waves online, if not for the discussion it will start on marriage and appearances, privacy and the illusion of knowing someone, for the way in which it will bring to life Gillian Flynn’s original story.
Every movie adaptation steps at least on a few fans’ toes, because it either changes the original story or “sins” by not being on par to the original.
Ben knows a lot about being judged and criticized, and his reaction to the Batfleck backlash is proof that he’s learned how to handle himself in such situations like a pro. He doesn’t lash back at the haters, but actually says he understands where they’re coming from.
“We have these cultural stories that people have attachments to, they care very much about, the fans have imagined it, they write fan fiction, and they get very into and it and they're certainly entitled to those feelings,” he tells Lauer.
“This is the movie that more than any other movie combined, people come up to me and are really excited. So to have all this attention, some of it's positive, some of it's negative, I think in the end the truth is, you make the movie and the movie works or it doesn't,” he continues.
He agrees with Lauer that haters should at least wait to see a few minutes’ worth of footage before dismissing him as a credible Batman, but mostly he tries to downplay the backlash. He also goes to great lengths to cut the conversation on the topic short, saying that the movie doesn’t come out until 2016, so there will be plenty of time to talk about it.
Affleck has a lot riding on his Batman role
Ben Affleck has come a very long way since his “Gigli,” “Daredevil” or Bennifer days. He is now an Oscar-winning director and an established name in the industry of cinema, but the one thing he’s still missing is mainstream public support.
It’s one thing to be embraced by the critics and welcomed as one of their own, but it’s entirely a different one to be a fan-favorite. The money and ultimately career longevity don’t come from the critics, but from the fans.
In other words, Affleck might seem at ease saying that his Batman role could work or not, but the bottom line is that he’s got a lot riding on it, as also does Warner Bros., whose first attempt at launching the rival to Marvel’s Avengers franchise, Justice League, “Man of Steel,” wasn’t quite the hit they were expecting.
Batfleck needs to be a hit. “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” needs to be a smashing box office success, or else all plans from the studio to make Justice League and continue with separate Batman and Superman films will go down the drain.
But, as Affleck says, we have to wait until 2016 to see what happens. Until then, here’s Affleck promoting “Gone Girl” (which he describes as a satire of sensationalist media) and teasing “Batman V. Superman” like the pro he is.