The casting of Ben Affleck as Batman has caused quite an uproar, with many people questioning Ben's acting chops, interest level, voice, and even his looks. But with on a podcast with
Kevin Smith recently dished some information on Ben. One of the things he had said regarding Ben's experience with Daredevil and Ben's fondness of the character was
“This dude has loved Batman going as far back as I can remember. He only did f***ing Daredevil because he loved Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. He’s like, ‘They’re never going to make another Batman,’ because this was after Batman had nipples and s*** like that. So he was like, ‘Daredevil’s cool, and Miller wrote him as well.’ So he liked the character, but it was always rooted in Batman.” Mr. Smith is probably exaggerating when he says that it's the only reason why he took the role, but at least we know Ben is a big fan of Frank Miller's
The Dark Knight Returns, which according to director Zack Snyder will provide inspiration for the film. Smith also said that when he bought Mr. Affleck's old house he discovered just how big of a fan Ben actually is. Smith said that one of the rooms in the house had a lot of books in there. While Ben was giving him a tour, Ben showed Kevin the room and then clicked a button, only to see that the bookcase started to move. Kevin exclaimed
“You built a f***ing Batcave.” But Affleck said, “I built a Batcave entrance.” The room ended up being a panic room complete with a TV, phone, and other items one might need in case of an emergency or if one was locked in there for some reason. So while it may not be your typical Batcave, it still is somewhat close to it. Finally, regarding Smith's personal thoughts on how Affleck will do as The Dark Knight, Smith said
“He’s always been into the notion. He’ll honor the character. I honestly think the dude’s a great actor. It makes absolute sense.” So there you have it. While other things can still be debatable, I guess there is no doubt that he intact is a long time fan of the character and will dedicate himself to it.