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New Batman star Ben Affleck has insisted that he can handle the harsh response given to him by fans following his recent casting in the upcoming blockbuster Superman vs Batman.
Making an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the Oscar-winning actor/director revealed that Warner Bros told him he would face a possible backlash over his new role.
Affleck explained: “The people from the studio said, ‘We want to talk to you because people go through this process and it can be a little trying’.
“They said, ‘We want to show you some of the reactions that past cast members have got on the internet’. I saw the announcement, I look at the first comment and it’s like, ‘Ben Affleck is going to be Batman’ and the first one goes, ‘Noooooooo!'”
The criticism has led to an online petition asking for Affleck to be removed from the superhero film sequel with more than 93,000 signatures being secured.
However, the Daredevil and Argo star has refused to let the backlash affect him, saying: “I’m a big boy. If I can handle an Emmy snub, I can handle anything.”
The 41 year old went on to reveal his excitement about the film despite his initial reluctance to take on the role.
He continued: “I thought, ‘I’m not 25 man and are you sure about this?’ And they said, ‘Come down we want to show you what we’re doing,’and it was incredible.
“Zack Snyder had this incredible take on it. Obviously you can’t do what Christian Bale did. Those movies are awesome, amazing, so he Zack wants to do something different but still in keeping with previous films so I thought, ‘This is a brilliant way to do this, I really know how to hook into this’.”
Affleck will portray an older version of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the first on-screen collaboration between himself and Superman.
The film will be released in the summer of 2015.