Damon: Affleck Will Be ‘Great’ as Batman, But ‘It’s Safe to Say I Won’t Be Robin’
Matt Damon doesn’t understand all the nerdrage about the casting of his longtime friend Ben Affleck as Batman in Warner Bros.’ sequel to the Man of Steel.
“I think it will be great,” the actor told The Times of India while touring the facilities of Water.org, the organization he co-founded. “It will be terrific. I know there are a lot of people grousing on the internet. I just think it’s kind of funny. You know, he’s not playing King Lear. It’s Batman! Certainly within his skill set. If anybody saw Argo or The Town, and all the work he’s been doing lately, it’s way more nuanced and interesting and way more difficult than Batman! Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people. Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that.”
Although photos have circulated online humorously depicting Damon as Robin alongside Affleck’s Batman, the actor laughed off any suggestion he might suit up with his Good Will Hunting collaborator.
“I am a little older than Ben,” Damon pointed out. “I never saw Robin as older than Batman. Somebody sent me a picture actually [of my face Photoshopped on Robin's body and Ben's on Batman's]. It was really funny. But it’s safe to say I won’t be Robin.”
He also talked about The Bourne Legacy, the Universal Pictures franchise spinoff starring Jeremy Renner, saying he holds no ill will against the movie or those involved.
“They were just trying to revitalize that franchise and I didn’t mind at all,” he said. “It didn’t have anything to do with the movie that I made. It makes sense for a studio to keep those franchises as alive as they can, it makes business sense for them. I don’t begrudge anybody that. I am a huge fan of Jeremy. I don’t equate my Bourne movie with his. He didn’t play the part of Jason Bourne. It’s a totally different thing.”