10 Riskiest Upcoming Casting Choices (And Why They Will Work)

The Risk

Was any casting choice made to seem as contentious as Batfleck? When the news broke back in 2013, the Internet went into a largely unwarranted state of mass hysteria. Affleck, who infamously flopped in his last superhero role as Daredevil a decade prior, wasn’t fit to wear the cowl and cape. He hadn’t ‘earned’ the right, so they said.

That assessment may have been grossly unfair, but it was not without foundation. Daredevil had tanked, Affleck was redefining his career mostly behind the camera rather than in front of it, and Batfans were still catching their breath after the climax of 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. It was too soon for a new Batman, and Affleck (rightly or wrongly) became somewhat of a lightning rod for the fans’ ire.

The Reward

As good as Nolan’s Batman trilogy is as a whole, the idea that Christian Bale is irreplaceable as the Dark Knight is somewhat of a uncorroborated fallacy. The strength of those films does not rest on the Welshman’s performance either as The Caped Crusader, or as Bruce Wayne, but rather on Nolan’s cerebral storytelling and eye for visuals. Bale is admirable, but by no means definitive. In a post-Keaton world, this generation is still searching for its one true Batman. Affleck has the potential to be just that.

Daredevil will always be a thorn in the actor’s side, but it smacks of pure ignorance to overlook all he has achieved in the interim. Now an established and acclaimed director, Affleck has also reaffirmed his acting chops in The Company Man, The Town, Argo, and Gone Girl, amongst others. His stint as Matt Murdock, particularly in the wake of Charlie Cox’s much-more impressive iteration on Netflix, should be consigned to the murky depths of film flop history.

With something to prove and an acting pedigree to back it up, Affleck is destined to define himself as this generation’s one true Batman.