Get over it: Affleck is Batman – Friday turned into the worst day for Batman fans.

Friday turned into the worst day for Batman fans, supposedly, as word from Warner Bros. came down about the latest casting for Batman vs. Superman.

The next Batman will be (none of Jeff Roedel’s choices) Ben Affleck.

Nevermind the time Affleck has spent repositioning himself as a good actor-director thanks to films such as Gone Baby Gone and Argo. Forgotten is the fact that Affleck himself acknowledged a time when his films were less than mediocre.

Most of the reaction I’ve read is no, no, and more no.

However, in the amount of time it has taken for the fan-boys to type dissertations on why Affleck shouldn’t be considered, more credible voices have come to the fold to quell those worries.

On one side, you’ll hear about Affleck’s failures—how he starred in a string of poor movies such as Gigli, Reindeer Games, The Sum of All Fears, and Daredevil, and somehow a number of other films are examples that Affleck can’t carry a big film.

The problem with the line of thinking is that none of these fan-boys have considered Affleck had relatively little to do with those films being failures. In the case of most of the films, Affleck has carried the weight of the flops because he’s the lead actor. Unfairly, he was relegated to bargain bin status even though all those films have script and direction problems.

At the time, no one also wanted to point out that his screenwriting partner and chum Matt Damon had his fair share of not-too-great films. The Legend of Bagger Vance, anyone? You guys forgot about Stuck on You, huh?

Also, more, smarter commentary comes from sites like The Dissolve, where Matt Singer writes about his non-reaction to the news because the movie hasn’t even been released.
It’s one of the few point of views I can read entirely because it’s calm, cool and collected.
Other than a few behind-the-scenes choices of director (Zack Synder), writer (David S. Goyer) and cast (Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman), there is relatively little about the new film out there to digest. The film will be released in 2015, and supposedly the two heroes will fight each other as the title suggests.

That’s two years from now, and already people have opinions on how awful it will be because the guy who made Simon Birch once wrote and directed a bad Daredevil vehicle starring Affleck.

There is no common thread between those two points of thinking, no a-to-b, no sense in getting angry over social media. It’s just a bunch of “keyboard warriors” with nothing else to do but spew vile over an idea that’s not similar to theirs.

There’s no consideration of the look, feel and heft of the Batman character—a rich, smug businessman who wants justice and looks devilishly handsome no matter who draws him for DC Comics.

If the reactionary thinking of “this is a bad move” somehow changes the way the next Batman/Superman vehicle will be made, then Warner Bros. and DC Comics become hypocritical in their decisions at a time when they can’t afford to be.

They got the same flack for casting choices for Michael Keaton as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker. The latter won a posthumous Oscar and is considered one of the best villains of all time.
Meanwhile, Marvel Comics is planning films through 2021, ramping up production on sequels to its landmark characters such as Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and even lesser-known characters such as Ant-Man and the quirky team Guardians of the Galaxy. No matter the hub-bub, Marvel’s steps are sure-footed and unwilling to succumb to the nature of fan-boy cynicism.

DC Comics has slummed through its franchises, not giving much thought the universe outside of the origin stories until now. If it wants to do a Justice League film with characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and many others on the screen at the same time, DC and Warner Bros. have to rally some confidence in itself and start going from jog to sprint to make up for lost time.

I’m willing to see what Affleck can do with Batman. I can forget his flops. I can’t forget his underrated performance in The Town of a man on the edge, trying to right all the wrongs in a series of elevated conflicts and unending violent stakes.

Hmm…that synopsis kind sounds like the plot of a Batman arc, doesn’t it?