Ben Affleck's <em>Batman</em> inspired by book

Los Angeles - Ben Affleck's Batman will be "heavily influenced" by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.

The 42-year-old actor - who has assumed the role from Christian Bale - will appear alongside Henry Cavill in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and he's confirmed to MTV that director Zack Snyder has been using Miller's comic book run as a reference point for his character.

He said: "I will say that I think Snyder was heavily influenced by that.

"I think everyone's heavily influenced by that... that's the seminal work. So, I don't think that there's any of these which have been made that haven't drawn from that book because it's so good.

"So, you know, I think if you're smart you steal from the best. That's why I'm going to rip David [Fincher, Gone Girl director] off from now on everywhere I go!"

Meanwhile, Affleck recently admitted to being unsurprised by the mixed reaction to the news he'd been cast as the new Batman.

The Argo star 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."