America, meet Gotham's new protector: Ben Affleck

The "Argo" star will play the role of Batman in the "Man of Steel" sequel

Published August 23, 2013 2:00PM (EDT)

Well, it's official: Ben Affleck is the new Batman. Warner Bros. has announced that Affleck will star in Zack Snyder's as-of-yet untitled "Man of Steel" sequel, which places Affleck alongside another iconic American superhero -- Superman.

The casting of the "Argo" actor-director, who is also known for bombing in movies like "Gigli" and "Daredevil," is deeply troubling for Batman fans. Seventy-seven percent of Variety readers in this poll say Affleck was not the right choice for the role, previously played by Christian Bale, George Clooney and Michael Keaton. There's already a Change.org petition and a White House petition seeking to oust Affleck from the role.

From the White House petition:

Batman is not pleased:

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Neither is Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss:

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Or most of Twitter, for that matter:

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Although it would be sort of amazing if his BFF Matt Damon were cast in the film:

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"Man of Steel 2" is due out July 17, 2015.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Acting Batman Ben Affleck Man Of Steel Superhero Superman