Ben Affleck was unsurprised by the reaction to his casting as the new Batman.

The decision to appoint Affleck, 42, to the iconic role prompted some fans to voice their unhappiness online, but the ‘Argo’ star says he expected there to be a mixed response.

On the reaction to taking over from Christian Bale as Batman, he said: “This is part and parcel of these movies now. There are 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 [Snyder] is 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.”

Affleck – who is married to fellow Hollywood superstar Jennifer Garner – said he has been dedicating a lot of time to getting himself in shape for the part.

He explained: “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.”