Zack Snyder still stands by his choice of actors in the DCEU movies, especially Batman actor Ben Affleck. While fans retrospectively show more love towards Henry Cavill’s Superman, not many seem to share the same feelings for Affleck. For Snyder, though, the Gone Girl actor is a better choice for the Caped Crusader than Christian Bale. Snyder also revealed a reason behind this controversial revelation, which some comic book fans may find valid.
Snyder shared that he preferred a bulkier Batman and found the perfect casting in Affleck who looked the part. However, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight films cast Christian Bale in the lead role, who was a smaller Batman compared to the comics.
Christian Bale Will Never Be Zack Snyder’s Choice of Batman
Zack Snyder recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and shared several experiences from his career, including his time at DCEU. Snyder’s decisions in the universe, starting with his darker Man of Steel film, were highly divisive. Some fans loved Snyder’s take on the movies and his choice of actors for the lead roles, while some hated them.
When Joe Rogan brought up the topic of Batman, Snyder shared that the character has no superpowers in the DC universe. Snyder added that Batman’s only advantages were his extreme wealth and his intimidating looks. He shared that these advantages would effectively translate to the screen only when a big bulky actor wore the Batsuit.
When Rogan asked about Christian Bale as Batman in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight trilogy, Snyder was a bit hesitant in acknowledging the great performance of the actor. Snyder expressed one concern he had for Bale’s role in Nolan’s films. He shared that the American Psycho actor was short for the role of Batman. He clarified that he was not being rude with his comment, explaining the depiction of the character in the comics to justify his stance.
In the Dark Knight Returns comics, Batman couldn’t get his finger in the trigger guard because he was so big. He revealed that this “genetic gift” also added to Batman as a character. Zack Snyder shared with The Joe Rogan Experience:
“He’s a great Batman, but he’s still, like, you know, 5’10”. If you look at Dark Knight Returns, there’s a line where he’s trying to hold someone’s gun, and his finger can’t get in the trigger guard because he’s so big. I like things like that. He has this genetic gift of just being this big f***ing dude. And, other than that, his parents were murdered in front of him, and he’s also a billionaire… You want it to not just be one of those things, right? It needs to be all of them in order for him to do what he can do.”
The Watchmen director truly believed that he found the perfect Bruce Wayne casting for his DCEU films in Ben Affleck. However, many fans and critics found Affleck’s character hard to like and deemed him the wrong choice to play the role (via The Guardian).
Zack Snyder Defends Ben Affleck’s Casting As Batman
For Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck’s height, a towering 6’4″, made him a “legit big dude” to play the lead in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice convincingly. When the actor wore the two-inch Batsuit boots, he was literally a 6’6″ scary-looking thing. In addition, Affleck bulked up for the role and wore a muscle suit under his Batsuit. He also had a chin that perfectly stood out in the cowl. Snyder shared with Rogan:
“Affleck’s 6’4″, you know? He’s a legit big dude. And the shoes, the boots are like two inches, so he’s literally almost 6’6″ in the costume. When he comes out in the costume – I mean, we put some muscle on him, and there’s a muscle suit under the suit, and he’s, legitimately, a scary-looking thing. You know, he’s just standing there, and you’re like, ‘Holy sh*t.’ Like, dude… the chin is so insane, in that cowl. I mean, look at him… he’s legitimately… that’s Batman to me.”
Christian Bale still remains a better Batman, according to many fans. Surprisingly, Matt Reeves‘ Batman actor Robert Pattinson proved to be a better Batman than Affleck. However, Snyder’s support for big actors to play the role has got a certain section of DC fans excited. These fans want Alan Ritchson, the hulking Reacher star, to play Batman in James Gunn‘s new DCU.
Batman v Superman and other DCEU films are now available for streaming on Max and Netflix.
