Warner Bros’ upcoming DC Comics film, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice“, earned itself a full coverage in the latest issue of entertainment magazine Empire recently.
In the issue, Empire sat down with the cast and director Zack Snyder to learn more about the movie, including Batman’s connection to “Suicide Squad“, Aquaman‘s cameo, and many more. Unlike the cover of Entertainment Weekly‘s special double-issue Comic Con Preview, the cover image for Empire’s latest issue emphasises on the fight between the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel.
When speaking about his decision to don the cape and cowl, Ben Affleck said:
Initially I thought, ‘I’m older, it doesn’t seem like the right sort of fit for me. Then Zack pitched me his concept for this older, more broken, kind of f**ked up Batman. It was something we haven’t seen. We have seen that Batman is willing to cross the line to protect people. That vigilantism has been a part of his character all along, and we are tapping into that mentality when faced by something as potentially as deadly as Superman.
Snyder also confirmed Affleck’s statement as he was quoted as saying:
We are playing him 45 or 46. He has been Batman for 20 years. All the history is there. Was there a Robin at one time? Possibly. We want to assume that Batman has reached this point in his life and career as a superhero, and Superman represents a sort of philosophical change. He is a paradigm shift for Batman: “I’ve been fighting criminals all my life, trying to find justice, and now I am confronted with a concept that is transcendent to me.” In the face of Superman, a man robbing a bank doesn’t matter. He’s having a crisis of conscience. “Am I really just a vigilante who stalks the alleys of Gotham?” It is rich stuff that he deals with. Ben does an amazing job.
Regarding of the state of Batman’s world, producer Charles Roven hinted at the death of Robin and his Gotham PD ally Jim Gordon by saying, “He has lost those near and dear to him, and not necessarily from old age or disease…”
Batman’s appearance in the recent “Suicide Squad” trailer is no coincidence, as Snyder confirmed that it is “a prelude to the events of that film” in which Batman captures Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), the right-hand woman for The Joker (played by Jared Leto). It was confirmed that the Caped Crusader is responsible for putting all the criminals of Task Force X for Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis) to do as she pleases in Belle Reve Penitentiary.
Snyder also spoke to Comic Book Movie about how all the upcoming DC solo movies are crucial to “Justice League“.
He explained:
What we are doing is ground up all the way. It is one giant story. The first thing we had was the Justice League concept. The other movies, in a way, have to support that. That is our Wonder Woman, our Aquaman. They have their own creative concepts that supports them, but they do serve Justice League in the coming together of those heroes. I want all the other directors of the other films to be able to stretch their legs and do what they want, but at the same time there is a big interconnected universe. I have given everyone amazing access to our story, to me, and what we are doing. All the films have like-minded conceptual jumping on points.
Roven then revealed how Warner Bros. and DC will connect all these solo movies. “We call it the sandbox,” Roven said.
He further explained:
It has borders around it, but everybody gets to play in the sandbox. On “Suicide Squad”, David Ayer has a lot of specific control over his area of the sandbox. Even if he crosses the line a little bit, we see if we can push our boundaries back a little bit.
As for the cameo appearance of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Snyder confirmed that it is just an “elusive cameo”. He simply stated, “You will understand he exists”.
Take a look at all the new stills and some behind-the-scenes photos below:
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is written by Chris Terrio from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. It is produced by Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer, and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers. It stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, and Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane will return to star their respective “Man of Steel” roles while Jesse Eisenberg will play Batman archenemy, Lex Luthor.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is slated for release on 25th March 2016.
Sources: Empire Magazine, comicbookmovie.com, batman-news.com
