Warner Brothers gave us a reason to watch Gotham Monday night — or at the least the last 15 minutes or so — promising a new sneak peek at the upcoming superhero blockbuster, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Would we get a full trailer or did “sneak peek” mean, well, exactly that and just give us a tease?
As you probably expected, it was the latter. Though this wasn’t some 10- or 20-second teaser of a trailer, we got just over 30 seconds of previously unseen footage from the film. The sneak peek gave us probably our best up-close look yet at Ben Affleck’s new version of Batman. If you haven’t seen it already — or want to see it yet again — take a look:
https://youtu.be/jcOudy16x_w
One of the curiosities that the first trailer presented was Batman wearing what appeared to be a desert uniform and attacking some kind of remote outpost. But the scenes had no context. What the hell was Batman doing out in the desert? (And who designed that cool sand-friendly look?) Why were soldiers wearing black uniforms with Superman’s “S” logo on the shoulder?
The sneak peek doesn’t provide many more answers, though it takes us back to that desert setting. And it looks like Batman didn’t quite overcome that horde of soldiers that he took on, as he’s captured and chained up alongside some other operatives. (Maybe the sneak peek was ultimately meant to show that Affleck can turn his head in that Batman cowl, something that the previous cinematic Dark Knights weren’t able to do until Christian Bale’s outfit had a neckpiece and helmet.)
But what is going on with the soldiers kneeling before Superman? Why is he so angry? And is that fear we see in Batman’s eyes, at least before Superman pulls off his mask, revealing the angry Bruce Wayne we saw in the previous trailer? Is this all a dream? (Heroic Hollywood’s Umberto Gonzalez says yes.) It sure seems to be Batman’s idea of a malevolent alien meant to do us harm.
Apparently, we will know more when the new full trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice premieres this Wednesday on the new stop for all things superhero, Jimmy Kimmel Live! Any chance Affleck and Henry Cavill present the trailer like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. introduced the Captain America: Civil War preview before Thanksgiving? Probably not, but here’s hoping. Regardless, we’ll probably have another 400 to 700 words to say about it on Thursday.
