The first photo of Ben Affleck as Batman has been released, by director Zack Snyder on Twitter. It’s a black and white still in which Batman has his head down, downtrodden but determined, while he walks next to the new Batmobile. Affleck’s costume is bizarre to me and way too pumped-up looking. It’s all black, has some texture to it, and you can see bat veins running along his plasticized musculature. The costume is like a high tech version of those kids’ Superman Halloween costumes with the muscles built in. That seems to be quite intentional. ComicsAlliance [via The Superficial] explains that the costume is based on Frank Miller’s 1986 comic, The Dark Knight Returns, which makes it “more like a costume and less like functional body armor.” So we won’t be seeing any Clooney-esque bat nipples then. The nipples will always belong to Clooney, and he must love that.
Affleck’s costume also has shorter ears, which is another characteristic of Miller’s Dark Knight. Miller’s Batman is freaking beefy and from what I’ve seen he’s dark too. Does Affleck have the gravitas to pull it off? We’ll see. He’s good at playing the strong brooding silent type, I think, so this may be a decent role for him. Batman vs. Superman is slated for release in May, 2016. (I’ve also read the Summer of 2015, but IMDB says it won’t be out until 2016 and it was announced in January that the release has been pushed back.)
As far as the Batmobile, it looks like it’s going to be more futuristic as well. Snyder previously teased a photo of the Batmobile covered in a canvas, with just the huge wheels and back showing. Now that we’re seeing it, it looks more like an angular spacecraft than a vehicle. Huffpo has a slideshow featuring a history of the Batmobiles if you’d like to compare. This one looks pretty badass to me.
Here are some photos of Affleck out yesterday in LA. He’s pumped now, and you know he’s standing like that to show it off. He was tooling around in his ’66 Chevy Chevelle. We also have some pics of him at a gas station with the classic car a couple of days ago. He had to bend over to pump gas, it’s funny.
The story of Affleck’s ban from playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Casino has almost faded from the news. It’s still on the cover of Star but that will get replaced soon enough. Radar had a post earlier this week which featured a PDF of the internal security alerts that Vegas firms sent out to the casinos about Affleck. There wasn’t much additional news, but it was interesting to read. One email said that officials warned Affleck he “was being way too obvious moving his money with the count.”
Photo credit: FameFlynet
I didn’t realize you needed gravitas to play a superhero. It’s not like his is playing Gandhi. But, yeah, who knows if he will pull it off.
Hahahaha. This is my thought too. Its just Batman………I have no idea why its become such a cultural icon.
Well if you read the comics and other arc stories, then you might get the idea of why.
The Batman character is gravitassy, moreso than Superman at least.
Gravitassy is a great word.
I’m going to steal gravitassy.
You need gravitas to portray a character though, superhero or else…. and Batman is one complex superhero so yes.
Batman has a case of the sads.
He’s the Grumpy Cat of the Superhero community.
No.
No way.
Just no. I don’t know why they had the idea to cast him as Batman! He’s Daredevil after all.
Liv, that was my first thought too lol.
In simple words NO. He doesn’t have the screen presence or the acting chops to pull this. Also Zack Snyder doesn’t have the required direction skills either. I genuinely feel in this movie Henry Cavill will outshine his co-star, which will be his first.
The real problem is Snyder and Goyer ( bad director and scenarist)
This! No just no. Maybe 10 yrs ago before the Nolan re-vamp they could have done a crappy Affleck re-boot instead but now the franchise is strong and casting has been perfection….NO! I wish he would just stick to his wheelhouse of directing/acting in smaller well scripted roles. He needs to give up on being an action hero.
The mobile and suit look killer but seeing as how horrible his acting and action sequences were in Daredevil, I doubt he’ll make a great batman. He better work his ass off trying though.
BTW – do we know if JGL is going to actually appear as Robin in the franchise soon, or are they just going to draw this out until we all forget?
This Batman and Nolan’s Batman are not connected. It’s a new continuity, so JGL’s character has nothing to do with the Justice League stuff. Nolan and Snyder have both said that.
Batman looks like he’s had a good Christmas…
Yes – a thousand times ‘yes’. I think he will be awesome, and I’m looking forward to it!
Ditto! I think he will be good in this, too.
Anne Hathaway played Catwoman right?
Snyder isn’t Nolan
And did a really good job.
If Batman counts cards, Affleck will be stellar in the role.
lol I chuckled at that.
The pic looks like more a pic of Franck Miller’s comics.
His batman suit looks steroided
I love how Ben pulls his stomach in front of the paps and he doesn’t look at ease with his new body and his legs are tiny in relation with his torso( he forgot to gain muscles in the legs)
Agreed. And I don’t see “toned pecs” and much as I see “moobs.”
yes, I see that too.
He is just not attractive. When I saw the photos, my first thought was “middle age crisis”, not “oh, sexy”. IDK, he’s just so…typical to me. Like every 5th guy in the world-tall (?), dark hair, ok-ish face, butt-chin….and that’s all. And don’t let me start about his acting.
Short ears, yep, Frank Miller’s description of bat ears.
I think he’ll do just fine. People should give him a chance.
It really is something how actors are able to change their bodies for roles. Not easy to do. But easier, I guess, if it is your full time job and you have their resources available.
In the words of Mia4S “he looks like a fat cat” so no, he does not. Hopefully it will be better than the crapfest of Daredevil.
As I mentioned yesterday, too much bulk and kitten ears.
Look he’s in a rough spot. No one liked Clooney’s Batman so Bale was a breath if fresh air. People liked Bale though and there wasn’t high interest in getting someone new in there. I would normally say give him a chance but Affleck just has zero ability to excite me.
Bale has the same intensity as Batman, naturally. He’s an intense, complex, tortured character. None of which Affleck is (nor was Clooney, but Kilmer and Keaton were).
Which means Affleck would have to be a good enough actor to pull it off. He can brood and be serious, but tortured and intense?
I’m not a fan of Christian Bale generally, but I also think that he had enough gravitas for this kind of role (or other roles that require gravitas). I have a hard time seeing Ben Affleck in this. He will always be a bit of a rom com guy to me, I guess.
Although I guess it works for him that he is with Henry Cavill in this. Imagine an Affleck Batman opposite Heath Ledger’s Joker, that would have been awful.
I know there isn’t much that can be taken away from this pic, but Batfleck is giving me all kinds of unintentional comedy. Those “abs” on the suit are doing him no favors. I get that it’s supposed to be the character later in life, but did they have to make the bat logo bloated too? It looks terrible. Daredevil 2.0. There, I said it.
My waffle of this morning has more gravitas at the bottom of my stomach than Affleck will ever pull off this Batman portrayal.
this comment is GOLD
That Batman looks like he’s on roids.
IDk why you guys but those baby tiny bat ears all fitted make me laugh so hard
I don’t care enough about these types of films, to be concerned over his performance.
I thought Bale’s Batman voice was beyond awful. He sounded like he smoked 4 packs a day.
His voice is great in batman begins, and that is how the voice is described in an old Batman comic book. Even Alfred makes joke about Batman’s voice.
Nolan digitally altered Bale’s voice in the upcoming films. In tdkr seemed better, but in TDK was exaggerated.
Frankly, I find it a little unfair that Bale gets blamed for his Batman voice when it’s Nolan who did whatever he did with the voice in post-production.
As for Affleck, sorry. No.
I really like the car (the 1960s SS, not necessarily the Batmobile). A classic muscle car!
Maybe? It all depends on how good the script could be, come on, it’s a superhero movie, you don’t need the acting genius of Marlon Brando to be adequate for the role. I might be of the minority, but I don’t instantly hate Batfleck or Zack Snyder. Zack’s Watchmen is the only comicbook movie that I have watched over and over and never get bored(yes I know he copied the book frame to frame except the ending, but it’s still incredible and breathtakingly beautiful, gosh I love those long takes) , so I say, give them a chance.
For me it’s the other way round: BECAUSE it’s (another) superhero movie there should be a great actor to make it interesting. I mean, there are so many superhero movies out there right now, esp. with all the Marvel stuff. And we already had some stellar performances/interesting actors in the last few years like Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, RDJ, Tom Hiddleston and Michael Fassbender. If you can get someone like Anthony Hopkins into a superhero movie nowadays people will get used to a certain quality.
My biggest problem with this has always been and still is Zack Snyder.
I welcome him to prove me wrong.
Agreed!
Watch Watchmen.Snyder is not the problem.Goyer was.Thank god they got rid of him!
I’m sorry, but the only sexy Batman in my eyes will forever be Michael Keaton. LOL.
Affleck looks way too roidy for my taste.
Keaton just killed it. So did Jack as the Joker. It really doesn’t get any better. Bale was great but Keaton is the benchmark IMO.
Keaton was perfect. To this day, he is the standard for me. I loved Bale, but Keaton will always be the first and the best.
I loved Michael Keaton. Even in the cheesy later ones. I liked Bale, but his growly bat voice was a little comical.
I’d rather have another look at Batney’s nipples than at Batfleck’s knitted muscles. And I don’t like this version of the Batmobile.
* walks up to mic and tap for feedback. Clears throat* ‘No’.
Holy veins Batman! Please please please DO NOT have them put those fake veins into the plastic Batman suit. That’s just gross.
I think he’ll do fine. Affleck does well in a ensemble movie, remember HE will not be the star of the movie, Superman is.
The costume is alright!
My fave costume still remains ”Batman dead end”.
If you don’t know it, it’s a short movie that was made before Batman begins.
I think it still on Youtube.
While we may not be getting any Clooney-esque Bat nipples we will be getting Ben’s Bat Boobs
He just needs to show up and put on the bat suit with the fake muscles. No gravitas needed here. It’s a superhero movie: cheap director, cheap writers, no storytelling to develop, not character actor’s job. And Ben, sadly, is not a character actor, and never be. Not much range here.
He looks a little…fat…
Probably it’s the angle, I dont know :s
Clearly, Ben Affleck forgot to do leg day.
Not excited to see this movie at all, forever a Michael Keaton as Batman fan with Bale as a close second.
That suit looks ridiculous. I guess Ben had to look buff because Henry is all muscular.
Nope.
He’s been looking like shit lately. He’s clearly spiralling down a tunnel made of booze, one-night stands and God knows what else.. and even if he was sober, he is NOT a good choice for Batman. If they were to pick a drunken, raging addict, they could have stuck with Josh Brolin as they intended in the first place..
I think Brolin would have been good. There were also Wes Bentley rumours and I thought he would be good too.
Bentley ‘s rumors were RP stunt.WB always wanted a guy with who they yet worked .Their fav always was Affleck and Gosling then Brolin if it didn’t work with Affleck and Gosling
I just saw a documentary on Batman and they talked on how WB had casted the new Batman( apparently the rumors on a totally insane money check to keep Bale is true and how Bale refused everything is true)
No. Lack of intensity, and charisma.
Nope. He’s going to suck as Bruce Wayne, ‘specially so recently after Christian Bale nailed it.
3 more veins and he could be Bane. Anyway, the Batmobile looks badass. Love the design.
All I can think when looking at BA in his bat (cat?) suit is… No. Oh, and ‘roidy.
I just don’t see it. I can’t. Ben will never be batman for me. Christian Bale was IT for me.
ummm… YES YES YES YES YES.
Christian Bale was my favorite Batman…I loved him.
BUT Beefy Affleck does not dissapoint…we’ll have to see!
God, it makes me so sad to see how horrible this is going to be. Not just Affleck, but the entire casting is horrible. I just don’t understand how they’ve screwed this up so badly. 🙁
Affleck would make a good Hal for Green Lantern but I don’t think he has the ability to convince us that anyone would find him a threatening bad a$$ like batman. As for the new bat suit, I hate it and I read batman comics. I never liked how batman was drawn for that popular graphic novel they are trying to emulate, he looks like the Hulk. Like he’s on steroids and unable to do any if the agile gymnast acrobat moves he is supposed to do. It’s awful. Plus that comic book batman is 60, Affleck is 40. How does that relate?