Ben Affleck has been discussing the fan reaction to his casting as Batman, but remains confident that he can deliver a memorable incarnation of the iconic character.

“Before I took the role,” begins Affleck, “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.’”

“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.”

And indeed, the strength of reaction in some quarters has served as motivation for Affleck to do the best job he can possibly do…

“You know what? It’s great that people do care that much,” he continues. “They want to see the movie that much. And it is incumbent on you to honour 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.”

Directed by Zack Snyder and co-starring Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg and Amy Adams, Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice will open in the UK on 29 April 2016.