At Comic Con Zack Snyder formally announced that a Man of Steel sequel is in the works and that it will pit Henry Cavill’s Superman against a new Batman. After completing Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale publicly stated that he has laid the cape and cowl down to rest. So who would step into Bale’s shadow to become the next Bruce Wayne?

Ben Affleck.

Yes, the man who once played the super hero Daredevil in the widely dismissed 2003 flick about blind lawyer Matt Murdock and who even dressed up as Superman as actor George Reeves in 2006’s Hollywoodland, Ben Affleck is Batman. After losing his way in Daredevil and Gigli, Affleck turned his career around by becoming a filmmaker and directing critically acclaimed movies like The Town and Argo. He also happened to star in those movies and if you ask me he did a fine job all the way around. But the question remains: can he step into a super hero suit and make viewers forget his ill-fated turn as the blind red crusader? The Internet reacted quite negatively to the news, but I say let’s give him a shot. As long as Matt Damon is Robin.

Warner Bros’ press release reads: Affleck and filmmaker Zack Snyder will create an entirely new incarnation of the character in Snyder’s as-yet-untitled project—bringing Batman and Superman together for the first time on the big screen and continuing the director’s vision of their universe, which he established in Man of Steel.

Snyder notes, “Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.”

Also, we now have a date for the Man of Steel sequel: July 17, 2015.