My Casting 'Controversies'

Ever since Ben Affleck was announced as the next Batman, the internet erupted with WTFs. Seriously, people went crazy. While I definitely have my reservations about this casting, I also remember there were other times in recent movie history where people lost their cookies when iconic roles were cast but the decision ultimately proved everyone wrong.

4. Within 2 years of the Danish film adaptation of the Millennium series, David Fincher decided to adapt an English version with Rooney Mara as the beloved Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Up against an already popular portrayal by Noomi Rapace in the Danish version of the film, the then-little known actress who's most familiar role was calling Mark Zuckerberg an asshole in Fincher's The Social Network not only proved everyone wrong but also got an Oscar nomination in the process.

3. Back before the "What? You cast a Brit as a famed American" craze, there was the "What? You cast a Yank as a famed Brit" mania. Case in point, Robert Downey Jr. brought his trademark snark to Sherlock Holmes and everyone across the pond went crazy. I mean, do you blame them? A literary character that's been in publication since the late 19th century, Holmes was no doubt a beloved persona. No worries though, Downey entertained the crowds, won a Golden Globe, made a popular sequel and inspired CBS to go with a similar snark with their own Sherlock Holmes television series, Elementary.

2. Fans cheered when it was announced Colin Firth, who played Darcy to much admiration in the BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice was to play Darcy again in Bridget Jones's Diary- a modern day version of the classic Jane Austen tale. All that went away when Texan Renee Zellweger was going to be playing the heroine. Knowing she had an uphill battle to climb, Zellweger started her now infamous weight flux, embodied the British accent and won over everybody as the boozy singleton, on her way to her first Oscar nomination... for a comedic role, no less.

1. The grand daddy of them all, Heath Ledger was known a teen heartthrob when he won the role of The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense but this was before Ledger proved his acting chops with an Oscar nod in Brokeback Mountain. Needless the say, the rest is cinematic history. Surpassed Jack Nicholson as the most beloved Joker and a posthumous Oscar victory, Ledger passed away with a trademark character that no one will dare to touch.

So there, don't worry about the guy who played Daredevil playing the Cape Crusader just yet. Okay, maybe a little...