Among all the seemingly wild casting rumors swirling around Hollywood, it turns out at least one of them was true: Oscar nominee Josh Brolin actually was considered to play Batman in Warner Bros.' Man of Steel sequel, a role that ultimately went to Ben Affleck.

Asked whether he had indeed talked with director Zack Snyder about the part, Brolin told The Huffington Post, "We did. I didn't have conversations about it, but Zack, that was part of his idea. It just didn't turn out. It's OK. It is OK. You know, another scenario might have worked better, but I'm happy for Ben."

While Brolin may be happy for Affleck, many Batman fans aren't; more than 30 petitions demanding Warner Bros. remove the actor from the film appeared on Change.org within hours of the Aug. 22 casting announcement.

"I've never seen such a global reaction in my life," Brolin said. "I feel for him, truly. I would not want to be him right now. The reaction becomes so personal," Brolin said. "It's like, 'Fuck this guy, I wish he was dead.' And you're like, 'What? Dude, seriously? This guy is just working like you are. He's doing the same thing you are. He's trying to make the best choices he can. [...] I just feel for anybody who gets lambasted at that level. I want him to kick ass and I want everyone to love it and kind of eat their words.'"

Opening July 17, 2105, the Man of Steel sequel also stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.