‘Man of Steel 2′ Casts Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight

Holy change-up, Batman! Ben Affleck, two-time Oscar winner, director/star of 'Argo,' and former Daredevil, has just been announced as the new Batman in the Batman and Superman/ 'Man of Steel 2' movie.

This comes from Variety, who also added that the film will be released July 17, 2015. And wow, what a casting announcement. Ten years ago Affleck was coming off of 'Gigli' and was considered toxic, but his turn toward directing lead to a rebound. His 'The Town' was a solid fall hit, while 'Argo' just won the best picture Oscar. What's important about those last two pictures is that they were made at Warner Brothers. The studio has been a great home for Affleck, and they've also been offering him a lot of their biggest movies. And though Affleck has achieved great success as a director, this might partly be a way to get even more risky films financed.

Director Zack Snyder issued a statement and had this to say:

“Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry (Cavill)’s Superman. 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.”

Affleck will be playing against Henry Cavill's Superman, and we're now a lot more excited for this picture than we were before. The big question now is: How much time will they invest in re-setting up Batman's character? Affleck is a total change of pace from Christian Bale's Dark Knight, but that doesn't mean they won't spend half the movie giving the character a new origin story anyway.