Well it’s that time once again, as today the rumour has
spread fast and wide that Paris Hilton’s le... I don’t know where that came
from, but anyway the word travelled so fast it must have been delivered by The
Flash (who still doesn’t have a movie yet) that Ben Affleck has been cast as
Batman in the new Superman vs Batman movie by the same imbeciles that dredged
up Man of Steel... I’m sorry I’ll get off my soapbox, and get onto this other
soapbox conveniently placed next to it.
Now then, I’m not going to talk about if it was the right or
wrong decision about his casting, don’t worry I’m sure you’ll find someplace on
the internet to have that particular argument, but more that I’m appealing to
those that don’t have their head so far up their own ass (or possible Zack
Snyder’s) to settle the fuck DOWN for a moment and consider our comic book
movie history for just a few damn minutes before charging like a bull as a
moving flag.
For decades now whenever a new movie project is announced
based on one of our beloved comic book characters we all have anticipation as
to who is involved with the project, the excitement is usually tenfold when it’s
the first in a potential series of films as we want them to do it right.
However this exuberance quickly turns into fanrage whenever the casting comes
about because inevitably the filmmakers always get it wrong and the fans get it
right, and despite how good or how popular the film eventually becomes this is
a recurring trend... and don’t get me wrong I get it too, I don’t want to see
some complete asshat become one of my favourite characters and I want to see it
treated with the care and love that I share for it.
That being said in almost all cases the fan community has
been up in arms about casting as far back as Michael Keaton and possibly
beyond. Oh what’s that? You didn’t know that there were boycotts because “Mr
Mom” was playing Batman (as so many eloquently put it), despite becoming one of
the best portrayals of the character in the character’s history? So yeah we’ve
been doing this shit for a while now, and what happens when that actor blows us
away? Do we ever say “Sorry” for our snap judgements or are we too busy having
a mental masturbation session over it? I can honestly say there are few casting
decisions in comic book movies that I’ve seen where I’ve been almost violently
opposed to the decision AFTER watching the film, mostly I have more issues with
the film itself then I ever do for the actors, although upon reflection I can’t
think of any (although Costner’s Jon Kent came close, again I blame the movie
more).
As I’ve mentioned to a few people about the only time the
fans didn’t have a crying fit was when Patrick Stewart was cast as Professor X,
you know in that movie the fans all hated because they got rid of the spandex and
dressed in leather, and cast an unknown aussie to play Wolverine, and the
message boards were crammed about how much the movie was going to suck? We now
know it as X-Men, a movie that was the most responsible for making Marvel
into a major power player in the movie business (yes I know Blade was first,
but it sucked, deal with it) and was directly responsible for a little movie called
Spider-Man to finally get greenlit after decades of development hell and legal
issues.
Ultimately it’s great that people are actively talking about
this, but seriously stop with the hate until the damn thing has been made as it’s
not going to make a lick of difference either way, then fire away until
your heart’s content.
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