Ben Affleck Explains Why He Took Batman Role

Ben Affleck has been explaining his reservations about playing Batman - and has revealed how Zack Snyder won him over.

The actor and filmmaker told Playboy in a lengthy interview that he had initially been reluctant to play the caped crusader, but had been talked round by Man Of Steel director Snyder.

"I don't want to give away too much, but the idea for the new Batman is to redefine him in a way that doesn't compete with Bale and Christopher Nolan's Batman but still exists within the Batman canon.

"It will be an older and wiser version, particularly as he relates to Henry Cavill's Superman character."

And he dropped a few hints about the kind of Batman we can expect to see him play.

"When they asked if I would be Batman, I told them I don't see myself in the role and I was going to have to beg off.

"They said I'd fit well into how they were going to approach the character and asked me to look at what the writer-director, Zack Snyder, was doing. The stuff was incredible.

"It was a unique take on Batman that was still consistent with the mythology. It made me excited. All of a sudden I had a reading of the character. When people see it, it will make more sense than it does now or even than it did to me initially."

And he also addressed the monumental backlash from internet users at the news of his casting, attributing it to his appearance in an unsuccessful movie adaptation of Daredevil.

"The only movie I actually regret is Daredevil. It just kills me. I love that story, that character, and the fact that it got f**ked up the way it did stays with me.

"Maybe that's part of the motivation to do Batman."

A Warner Brothers exec recently commented on the casting of Affleck as Batman.