THIS JOKER?! Ben Affleck, here with wife Jennifer Garner, has been selected to fill the role of Batman in the “Man of Steel” sequel. (
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Hundreds of thousands of fans yesterday begged Warner Bros. to dump Ben Affleck as its next Batman — mocking the 41-year-old actor as too stale, hairy and vanilla to play the Caped Crusader in the “Man of Steel” sequel, a role that’s been immortalized by the seductive Christian Bale.
They even tried to take the fight to the White House, launching a petition on the We the People section of its Web site. Fans asked the Obama administration to “denounce the selection of Ben Affleck” and recast the role — but the campaign was taken down yesterday with the site’s masters citing their “moderation policy.”
Of the 96,088 tweets blasted out within the first hour of the announcement of Affleck’s selection, 71 percent were negative, reported the social-media tracking firm Fizziology.
Joan Rivers, Martha Stewart, Elton John, “Carlos Danger” and a singing Alec Baldwin were named as preferable choices as “#BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck” began trending as a hashtag on Twitter.
“The drunken hobo that lives under the overpass would be a #betterbatmanthanbenaffleck I am still at a loss for words,” wrote one tweeter, Ginger Gilbert, a k a @beautytravel80.
More than 10,000 people signed a petition on Change.org created by fan John Roden of Ludlow, Ky., who begs Warner Bros. to recast the role because Affleck’s “acting skill is not even close to being believable as Bruce Wayne.”
Even the studio seemed unsure about going to bat for this Batman.
Asked by The Post yesterday whether Warner Bros. was reconsidering its casting decision, a studio rep said only, “No comment.”
Fans mocked Affleck’s prior flops, including “Gigli” and “Daredevil,” in which he attempted playing a superhero but fell short.
“He wasn’t really good in ‘Daredevil,’ ” said Chakory Dey, 23, of Brooklyn. “If you can’t pull off Daredevil, what makes you think you can pull off Batman?”
Many said the “Argo” actor/director doesn’t have the Dark Knight’s look or demeanor, and suggested that Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin — both considered for the role — were better suited.
“When I look at his hairy face, I don’t think of Batman,” said Chris Vasquez, 26, of Jackson Heights.
“He looks too nice. He looks too cuddly with all that body hair. He kind of looks like a mountain man.”
And can we expect the aging actor to whip into superhero shape?
“He may not be as ripped as Christian Bale,” warned Equinox Tier 3 trainer Ben Hart, who has gotten his share of celebs into shape. “Not all of his genetics are necessarily with him on this, so he needs to push a little harder.”
“Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder said Affleck was picked for the sequel because he envisioned a more mature Batman to contrast against a younger 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,” he said.