Monday Morning Quarterback Part II

By BOP Staff

March 30, 2016

Don't worry, everyone. I probably won't destroy your city as collateral damage.

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Felix Quinonez: I don't think this will do anything either way for any of the actors.

Ryan Kyle: Ben Affleck donned the cape at a point in his career where he would have been fine passing on the part, although he would have lost a big payday (he passed on the opportunity already, rejecting the director's chair for Man of Steel). Cavill is hard to tell if playing Superman has vastly improved his star power, having only released one film between Man of Steel and this. I think Gal Gadot, a relative unknown to the general public prior to being cast as Wonder Woman, receives the biggest boost here by being cast.

Michael Lynderey: I think it's great for all of them. Ben Affleck has had an amazing career comeback in the last seven or so years, and playing Batman, one of the most iconic American characters, is just another notch in what's lining up, year by year, to be an amazing streak of achievements. With an opening like this, Affleck gets to keep his name out there as a movie star-leading man in a big way (the film will easily be his biggest grosser - by far), and he also gets the satisfaction of playing Batman, a notoriously difficult character to get right, to the tune of reviews that have Affleck polling well above the movie itself (he's being called the highlight of the film by some critics, and some say he's better than Bale). Affleck played George Reeves, the star of the oldie Superman show, in Hollywoodland in 2006, and here he's coming full circle.




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For Henry Cavill, the movie certainly won't hurt, and it might help. He hasn't had many films out in the three years since Man of Steel, and this one gets him back into the pop culture stratosphere. Do Iron Man and Captain America movies help the non-franchise films of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans? They don't really seem to, but they're considered huge movie stars regardless, and they've parlayed at least some of that clout into getting those other projects made, which Cavill can as well.

As for Gal Gadot, she was a fairly unknown actress, so of course playing such a highly-anticipated character in one of the biggest openers of all-time is a huge plus, regardless of anything else. Most regular filmgoers didn't know who Gadot is. Now they will. In a somewhat comparable situation, it's vaguely like what the first Hunger Games did for Jennifer Lawrence (even if not to the same extent), and it sets Gadot up for her solo film next year, which will mostly sink or swim on its own merits.


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