12 Movie Casting Decisions That Fans Couldn't Handle

2. Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Ben Affleck & Robert Pattinson - Batman (Batman '89, Batman & Robin, Batman V Superman & The Batman)

Perhaps no prominent role in the pantheon of pop-culture has been as routinely whined-about as that of Batman - which speaks as much to the finicky nature of hardcore comic book fans as it does the Caped Crusader's popularity.

First up, we have Michael Keaton, who prompted 50,000 complaint letters to Warner Bros. after being cast in Tim Burton's '89 Batman.

Best known for his comedic roles prior to casting, many fans just didn't believe he could go to the dark places necessary for the character.

His successor Val Kilmer actually fared relatively well, as aside from his well-earned reputation for being difficult on-set, there didn't seem to be too many complaints about him taking up the mantle.

But when George Clooney took the reins for Batman & Robin, the knives were out, with many fans questioning why That Bloke From E.R. was cast as Batman.

Up next, fans were relatively confident about Christian Bale's casting in Batman Begins for the most part, saving up all their hateful energy to complain about Heath Ledger's Joker.

Yet a veritable s***storm unfolded online when Ben Affleck was unexpectedly cast as the DCEU's Batman, citing Affleck's failure as Daredevil in his 2003 solo movie.

And finally, with the recent news that Warner Bros. is looking to close a deal with Robert Pattinson to play the superhero in Matt Reeves' The Batman, a number of petitions have already started doing the rounds begging WB to pick somebody else. The ink isn't even dry on the contract yet...

Did It Work Out?: Keaton absolutely knocked it out of the park, and despite Tim Burton's filmmaking eccentricities, he nailed the deranged nature of Bruce Wayne better than anyone else.

Clooney was a complete wash, in large part due to the film being absolutely horrendous, but also because Clooney gave a depressingly one-note, charisma-free performance.

Affleck did a wonderful job with what he had, but he was ultimately hamstrung by the material and ended up bailing out of the DCEU far sooner than fans wanted him to.

As for Pattinson, we'll have to wait and see, but given his clear talents as an actor, it's certainly an ambitious and exciting casting pick (assuming it does indeed stick).