Ben Affleck Is Batman for Man of Steel Sequel (dir. Zack Snyder)

Not likely. But now that you mention it...

 

I remember being amazed that they went with Michael Keaton the first time around, but then again following Bale will be tough for anyone.

 

I'd buy that for a dollar!

 

Well, at least the healing process can begin:

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2013/08/bryan-cranston-cast-as-lex-luthor-in-man-of-steel-sequel---report.html

 

Too old, but he will probably be fine.

It is kind of suprising they would lock him in for SIX appearances -- since one of the biggest complaints against the Superman film series has always been "too much Lex Luthor."

Although the problem hasn't really been "too much Lex Luthor"; it's been "too much lame-ass cocktail-lounge comedian surrounded-by-nitwit-sidekicks version of Lex Luthor."

The REAL Lex Luthor has never appeared on a movie screen until now.

 

Patton Oswalt's FB status is the best response I've read:

No matter how many times you post your stupid "Fire Ben Affleck from Playing Batman" petition, I'm going to delete it and block you. Take a deep breath, and think for a second:

Yeah, the dude's made some bad films. Every actor has. Every actor does. Every actor will. It's a huge, arcing career and NO ONE has control over where it goes. Movie to movie, year to year, you're collaborating and trying and risking and, sometimes, yes -- failing.

Plus, everyone seems to forget that he had the world dropped in his lap when he was YOUNG. And, judging by how other suddenly-famous youngsters do in the same situation, he fared pretty well. Even when it went wrong, he seemed to keep a self-deprecating, long-view philosophy about the burning freak carousel he'd found himself on.

And then what happened? I mean, he'd fallen from a HEIGHT. You know what happens to 95% of people who weather a descent that steep? They come apart, fray at all of their sanity nodes, and give up.

But then there's the 5% who embrace crushing defeat and see it for the gift it is. And here's the gift: when you fail, and fail UTTERLY, you wake up the next morning and see that the world didn't end. And then the fear of failure is gone. And you're free. You're free to proceed on your own terms and pace -- if you have the ego that permits you to.

Ben brushed himself off, realized he'd kept his eyes open on the movies he'd done, and started directing. And he's become a damn good one.

A Batman portrayed by someone who's tasted humiliation and a reversal of all personal valences -- kind of like Grant Morrison's "Zen warrior" version of Batman, post-ARKHAM ASYLUM, who was, in the words of Superman, "...the most dangerous man on the planet"? Think for a second and admit that Ben Affleck is closer to THAT top-shelf iteration of The Dark Knight than pretty much anyone in Hollywood right now.

I'd write more, but I have to go work on my post about how an overweight 44 year-old comedian with bad feet and insomnia would be a bold choice for The Joker.

 

I was wondering about his age, too, especially with them talking about so many appearances.

But you are correct about the previous versions of Luthor in the movies. I really thought they might get it right with Spacey, but the script ruined that idea.

 

Spacey was BETTER than the buffoon clown version of Luthor played by Gene Hackman, but Bryan Singer was so hell-bent on making 'Superman Returns' a slavish, sycophantic homage/ripoff to the Donner series, he just couldn't bring himself to go the distance and make Luthor a really scary villain rather than a comedian.

Hackman-Lex never gave the impression he even really disliked Superman. At least in the scene where Luthor is having his thugs put the beatdown on Kryptonite-weakened Supes and he joins in to kick the holy crap out of him himself, it does seem to be personal to Spacey-Lex.


But the next version of Luthor needs to be a Ledger-level revelation. People need to come streaming out of the theater saying, "holy shit."

 

Michael Rosenbaum wasn't bad.

 

Smallville did Lex very well. Until the end when they got weird about it and then he left the show and they did the weird clone thing.

 

Batman?

Grow up.

Be an adult.

You'll survive.

You might even like it.