Ben Affleck is in the first stages of his press tour for Gone Girl, which means he will be asked a million questions about his role as aging millionaire Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. First to come at him is EW, who manage to get a few nice quotes about his decision to take on the role, his preparations for the physically intense job, and his true thoughts on the so-called "fan outcry". When he hears the word 'Batfleck', he can only laugh.

It has almost been exactly a year since Ben Affleck was announced as the new Dark Knight. Since that time, the actor has packed on quite a bit of muscular weight and taken to sporting grey hair for this quite physical performance. While he won't give away any specifics about his role in what could be the biggest blockbuster of all time, Ben Affleck did have this to say about taking on the job.

I'm right in the middle of shooting now. It's a process that I'll probably have better perspective on when I'm done. I can tell you that every time I do a role, it's the responsibility of an actor to get their physical self as close to the role as possible. And Batman's obviously got a set of expectations that are tough. So I spent a lot of time working out. And it's a far cry from Gone Girl where my character is described as "puffy and hungover." I want you to know I worked equally hard at both! [laughs]

He went onto address the fans who, at first, felt it was ludicrous that Ben Affleck would be suiting up in Batman's iconic cape and cowl. Some of his comments, we've heard before. He also goes onto praise the screenplay by Chris Terrio and his director Zack Snyder.

"Before I took the role, Warner Bros. gave me a bunch of past reactions to casting and said, "Are you sure you want to get into this? This is part and parcel of these movies now. There's a lot of active fans with a lot of opinions." To me, having been through a certain amount of that, it doesn't really... Everyone's entitled to their opinion. I wouldn't have taken the part if I didn't trust my instincts in terms of the filmmaking. I think Chris Terrio wrote a terrific script. Zack's a great visual director. And there's an interesting take. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could do it. I have the benefit of a lot of that understanding. But also, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's a big part of this international sport. The Fifty Shades of Grey kid or whatever it is. That's sort of become a thing.

Ben Affleck promises this will not affect his performance as The Dark Knight:

"You know what? It's great that people do care that much. They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honor the story. There are the Greek myths and these are the American myths. The American myths are these superheroes. People care about 'em a lot. And it's incumbent on you to do a good job and make it as excellent as you possibly can. At the end of the day, the movie's all that matters."

Are you more excited to see Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice than you were a few minutes ago? Or do you think his casting is still a very bad idea? Sound off below!