Ben Affleck may not be directing a Justice League movie, but… This is so much better! The Oscar winner is going to play Batman in the planned Man of Steel sequel, Warner Bros. announced Thursday. Zack Snyder is returning to direct the follow-up to his first Superman flick, starring Henry Cavill as the titular superhero, which has made more than $649 million worldwide. “Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman,” Snyder said in a statement. “He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.” And we know he looks good in a suit, for all those Bruce Wayne scenes. Along with Cavill, Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne are also expected to return for the sequel as Lois Lane and Perry White. Months before the Argo madness that resulted in a Best Picture Oscar win for Affleck and fellow producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov, there was much speculation that Affleck would direct a Justice League movie also being developed by Warner Bros. Those rumors turned out to be way overstated, but Affleck, 41, has never been more in demand: In addition to agreeing to a turn as the Caped Crusader, he has signed on to play Nick, the husband whose wife goes missing under shockingly twisted circumstances, in David Fincher’s hotly anticipated adaptation of the Gillian Flynn best seller Gone Girl. Rosamund Pike is onboard to play Amy, his MIA wife.
