Ben Affleck as Batman: My Thoughts

This morning Warner Bros announced that Ben Affleck would play Batman/Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Superman/Batman film to a massive uproar from fans. But, why? I can think of plenty of reasons why this could potentially be a good direction for Batman.

Firstly, Ben Affleck is not the first person to be cast in a Batman film that has caused a backlash from fans. I have two names that proves that you should give anyone a chance: Michael Keaton and Heath Ledger. Let's start with Keaton, shall we? When Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton as Batman in the 80's there was a huge uproar. Fans thought he was completely wrong for the role and even threatened to boycott the film, yet Keaton went on to play the role incredibly well and is actually my favourite to play the role (sorry Adam West!). Now onto Heath Ledger. Fans thought that he was "that pretty boy from 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale" and that he couldn't handle the sadistic side of The Joker....He went on to win an Oscar for his portrayal. Need I say more?

Secondly, Affleck has totally turned his career around since being in every bad Hollywood ever produced in the early 00's (little bit of exaggeration, perhaps). The Sum of All Fears, Hollywoodland, State of Play, The Town and The Company Men just to name a few prove that Affleck is a good actor. I've seen people moaning about the fact he was in a very bad Daredevil film. So? That film was awful - and it would have been awful without Affleck.

Thirdly, and most important in my opinion, Affleck is 41. Let's say Affleck goes on to play Batman for the next 10 years -there's plenty of potential for Warner Bros to use the awesome graphic novels that include an older Bruce Wayne/Batman. Let's not forget that The Dark Knight Returns, arguable the greatest Batman graphic novel, included a 55 year old Bruce Wayne.

I'm certainly not saying that Affleck is the best choice for the role, I can think of plenty actors who I would have preferred in the role (Wes Bentley, Karl Urban and Richard Armitage to name a few), I'm just saying people shouldn't write him off straight away. Just give him a chance.