The upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has created a tremendous amount of hype before its scheduled release on March 25, 2016. The trailer has been viewed over 47 million times and Warner Brothers has already announced a Batman solo film, which Ben Affleck will not only star in, but also direct and co-write.
With all this Batman-mania, it was recently confirmed by BvS director Zack Snyder in an interview with The Daily Beast, that Batman would be getting more screen time in the upcoming flick.
“It’s a different Batman than the Batman that was in the Chris Nolan movies, so we have a little bit more explaining to do — and you just had a whole Superman movie. But I think only in that way, because you need to understand where Batman is with everything. And that’s more toward the beginning, but it evens back out as it goes on.”
Those comments make sense.
The Superman mythology has already been developed in Man of Steel, so introducing a new Batman in BvS will take time. This version of the character will be older, having already fought crime for 20 years. DC Entertainment and Warner Brothers have massive plans for their most popular brand, which makes universe building for the Justice League and the Batman solo film(s) a top priority.
Man of Steel was a financial success, but not a critical one, and drew mixed reaction from fans. Shifting the focus on Batman will likely be a good move for Superman. While Henry Cavill is excellent in the role, I’m not sure how many people are pining to see another solo Superman film, although everybody wants to see him face the Dark Knight. This way, Superman is still a featured character, but doesn’t have to carry the movie by himself.
There’s no doubt BvS is the beginning of DC trying to setup a cinematic universe and emulate the success of their main rivals Marvel. Snyder says his universe makes more sense because his characters are more mythological and not “bubblegum” — which is clearly a shot at his competitor.
“It’s a tricky process, setting up the DC universe, or Justice League,” Snyder said. “The credit goes to [Batman Begins director] Chris Nolan because he set the die for the DC Universe in a great way that I tried to emulate. I look at it as more being mythological than, say, bubblegum. And I think that that’s appropriate for Batman and Superman because they’re the most mythological of our superheroes.”
When asked about Steven Spielberg’s recent comments about the superhero genre going the way Western before it, Snyder doubled down on his over-serious approach, saying his films, unlike some of the Marvel features, will transcend the genre.
“I feel like he’s right. But I feel like Batman and Superman are transcendent of superhero movies in a way, because they’re Batman and Superman,” Snyder said. “They’re not just, like, the flavor of the week Ant-Man — not to be mean, but whatever it is. What is the next Blank-Man?”
With Snyder talking smack before the release of his film, he’s basically setting himself up to get mocked should this film be a failure of any sorts. DC hasn’t yet established a successful, viable cinematic universe, despite their plans to do so, which is something that should be in place before he takes shots at his uber-successful rivals.
Has anyone ever gone to a superhero movie and had a transcendent experience? I don’t think so. People watch the genre because it’s fun, action-packed and a great popcorn experience. Even the darkest versions of the films have some silliness to them. I’m excited for BvS, but Snyder needs to let his film speak for itself.
