‘Batman’ Ben Affleck Fires Back At Critics! 'Gone Girl' Actor Trusts His Instincts! Will The Rants Never End?

Batman is one of the most popular movie characters in the past three decades. Because of the numerous portrayals of the character, there are so many points of comparison. Ben Affleck knew he was stepping into a quagmire when he took the role but he's ready for it.

From EW, Ben takes on the Batman questions during the "Gone Girl" promotions:

"Before I took the role, Warner Bros. gave me a bunch of past reactions to casting and said, 'Are you sure you want to get into this? This is part and parcel of these movies now. There's a lot of active fans with a lot of opinions.' To me, having been through a certain amount of that, it doesn't really... Everyone's entitled to their opinion. I wouldn't have taken the part if I didn't trust my instincts in terms of the filmmaking. I think Chris Terrio wrote a terrific script. Zack's a great visual director. And there's an interesting take. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could do it. I have the benefit of a lot of that understanding. But also, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's a big part of this international sport. The Fifty Shades of Grey kid or whatever it is. That's sort of become a thing."

But the fans believe that they should be heard. Should they just be disregarded?

"You know what? It's great that people do care that much. They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honor the story. There are the Greek myths and these are the American myths. The American myths are these superheroes. People care about 'em a lot. And it's incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie's all that matters."

Affleck has had his share of criticism (Gigli, anyone?) but nothing compares to the outrageous animosity of comic book movie fans. On the other hand, if he delivers a great performance, Affleck would be enshrined and he'll be no less than an icon.

This is the big risk in venturing into tentpole franchise movies. Christian Bale set the bar high with the last Batman trilogy. Affleck knows he has huge shoes to fill. Let's see if he can fill them on March 25, 2016.