Many critics have criticized the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman to feature alongside Henry Cavil's Clark Kent in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, with many claiming Affleck is not a good fit for the role and things will end in disaster. However, producer Michael Uslan and director Zach Snyder have continued to defend their decision to install Affleck for the Dark Knight's latest portrayal in film.

Uslan is not a new hand at these kind of movies, and has been the producer of every Batman movie since 1989. In the first Tim Burton film, actor Michael Keaton was hired to play the lead role. Many, including Aslan himself, did not believe he had the chops to be the hard-edged vigilante.

Uslan spoke about his initial reaction to the casting in a recent interview: "I'd go, 'Oh my god, all the work, I've put in all these years to do a dark and serious Batman. He's going to hire a comedian!' I could envision the posters: 'Mr. Mom is Batman,' But ultimately he believed director Tim Burton when he said he had a vision for Keaton in the role," according to EP Daily.

Uslan feels like there are many parallels between Keaton and Affleck for the role. He feels that although many object now, their opinion, with the release of the actual movie, might change.

At least that's what happened with Heath Ledger's famous performance as the Joker, in Christopher Nolan's 2008 film. Initially viewers were surprised that Ledger was cast for the iconic villain role, but after the movie was released Ledger's performance was universally praised as perhaps the best portrayal of The Joker of all time.

In the end, Uslan says, the outcome of a Batman movie lies in the power and believability of the Bruce Wayne character: "If you're trying to do a serious, dark superhero, people have to believe in Bruce Wayne as that obsessed driven guy, to the point maybe of almost being psychotic. A guy who would get dressed up as a bat and do what he did."

So can Ben Affleck rise to the challenge?