Matt Damon on Ben Affleck Batman Role in 'Man of Steel 2:' 'Certainly Within His Skill Set'
Matt Damon endorsed Ben Affleck playing Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel during his Aug. 28 interview with the Times of India.
The recent announcement about Affleck being cast in the role of Batman received much criticism -- from incessant Twitter-bashing to petitions requesting that Affleck be banned from playing the role of the dark superhero -- but there have been a few reassuring voices from within the film industry. Director Joss Whedon recently said that Affleck would "crush it" as Batman.
Damon is also standing up for his friend. While he believes Affleck can handle portraying the character, he also seemed to suggest that Batman is not a challenging role to be fussing about so much:
"I think it will be great. It will be terrific. I know there are a lot of people grousing on the Internet. I just think it's kind of funny. You know, he's not playing King Lear. It's Batman!" Damon said. "Certainly within his skill set. If anybody saw Argo or The Town, and all the work he's been doing lately, it's way more nuanced and interesting and way more difficult than Batman!"
"Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people," he continued. "Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that."
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When asked about the possibility of him playing Robin, as Damon and Affleck share a great on-screen dynamic and are very good friends in real life, Damon laughed it off.
"I am a little older than Ben. I never saw Robin as older than Batman," he said. "Somebody sent me a picture actually (of his face photoshopped on Robin's body and Ben's on Batman's). It was really funny. But it's safe to say I won't be Robin."
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Over 30 petitions had surfaced on change.org asking Warner Bros. to fire Affleck from the Batman role, according to Variety.. One such complaint, which asks "to Make it Illegal for Ben Affleck to portray Batman (or any super hero) on film for the next 200 years," was taken down recently.
