Henry Cavill has praised Ben Affleck for taking his career in a new direction by signing up to play Batman.

Affleck drew the wrath of comic book fans when he was announced as the new Caped Crusader, taking over from British actor Christian Bale to face Cavill as the Man of Steel in upcoming blockbuster Batman vs. Superman.

A petition was even launched in a bid to have Affleck dropped from the cast, but Cavill insists his new co-star is the right man for the job despite the objections from fans.

He tells Total Film, "I'm sure he'll be fantastic, above all else, and as a filmmaker he's got his own style, you know, he's not copying anyone else. And he's also sort of been tenacious in his career. He's had ups followed by downs and now he's very up again and I think that requires and shows a very special strength of character, and it's something which I enjoy working with because jobs like this require a strength of character. They require a dedication to the work and a belief in oneself and Ben has that, clearly."

The Man of Steel sequel is due for release in 2015.