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Ben Affleck Couldn’t Believe They Wanted Him for Batman: “My First Reaction Was, ‘Are You Sure?'”

Ben Affleck
Newly single Ben Affleck, who announced his split from Jennifer Garner on June 30, reflected on his reaction to being cast as the new Batman

Ben Affleck knows what you thought when he was cast as Batman — because he thought it, too. The newly single star told Entertainment Weekly recently that he, like many fans of the DC Comics character, questioned whether director Zack Snyder had made the right decision in asking him to don the iconic Batsuit for the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie.

“My first reaction was, ‘Are you sure?'” Affleck, 42, recalled to the mag for its new issue, which debuted two days after the Gone Girl star and wife Jennifer Garner announced their split. “At the time I was 40, 41, and had just finished Argo, and I felt like, ‘This seems like a strange way to get to Batman.’ But Zack convinced me.” 

Related: PHOTOS: Jen and Ben, the way they were

Affleck is just the latest in a long line of Batmans over the years. Previous portrayers include Adam West, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Val Kilmer, and — most recently — Christian Bale, who donned the mask in Christopher Nolan‘s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.

Affleck’s version of the Caped Crusader is “at the end of his run,” he told EW. But his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is just as indulgent as ever.

Related: PHOTOS: Celeb splits in 2015

“He really keeps up the image of the playboy, actively,” the Argo director said. “So you have more of a dichotomy which I thought was really fun, and a little sad, like the aging playboy.”

Entertainment Weekly Batman Superman cover

Affleck and the rest of the Batman v Superman team are set to appear at this year’s Comic Con on July 11. At the moment, though, he’s spending time with his family in the Bahamas and dealing with the breakup of his marriage to Garner, 43.

“After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the couple told Us Weekly in a joint statement on June 30, one day after their 10th wedding anniversary. “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children, whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time.”

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