James Franco supports Batfleck

While the debate over Ben Affleck's casting as Batman in the forthcoming Man of Steel sequel trundles on, the actor is picking up a substantial amount of celebrity support.

The latest actor to jump on the Batfleck bandwagon is James Franco, who has told E! that he thinks Affleck has "proved himself" since appearing as Daredevil and will make a "good Batman".

[Stan Lee is a true believer in Batfleck]

"I think he's proved himself now as both a director and an actor," said the Spider-Man star, adding; "I will say he's best in the movies he directs.

"Maybe he should direct it," he joked, before adding, "I think he should direct it."

Franco went on to dismiss comparisons to Affleck's 2003 turn as a superhero.

"Daredevil wasn't my favourite movie, but I don't blame Ben for that," he said.

"As an actor, there's this crazy thing where you could be good, you do good work, but then if you're in a movie that's not so good, they blame you… That's just crazy thinking."

[Amazing Marvel and DC superhero posters]

Meanwhile, Affleck's wife and Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner has said that she's "excited" to see her husband play the iconic character.

She told MTV News: "You know, I was excited for him. I was excited because he had a real take on what he wanted to do.

"I have to say, my husband is a pretty great storyteller himself, and I'm excited to watch him do it."

[Justin Bieber up for a role in Batman Vs. Superman?]

The likes of Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Liam Neeson, Michael Keaton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Smallville star Tom Welling have all spoken positively about the casting.

The film, currently titled Batman Vs Superman, is due for release on July 17, 2014.