Empire Magazine’s coverage of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is certainly giving us a lot to chew on. Following on from the recent batch of stills that were released, which can be seen in the gallery below, we’re now learning a little bit more about what kind of Batman we’ll be getting when the film hits theatres in March.
We already knew that Bats would be considerably older in this flick than he was in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and Zack Snyder recently confirmed this to Empire, stating that Bruce Wayne will be about 45 or 46 in Batman V Superman.
“We are playing him 45 or 46,” Snyder said. “He has been Batman for 20 years. All the history is there. Was there a Robin at one time? Possibly.” He has lost those near and dear to him, and not necessarily from old age of disease…”
Ben Affleck also weighed in, saying that at the start, he wasn’t necessarily on board with the idea of an older Batman.
“Initially I thought, ‘I’m older, it doesn’t seem like the right sort of fit for me,'” adds star Ben Affleck. “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 a Superman.”
Snyder then goes on to talk about Superman and how his arrival is a “paradigm shift” for the Caped Crusader.
“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?'” asks Snyder. “It is rich stuff that he deals with. Ben does an amazing job.”
Finally, Empire’s coverage confirms that Batman does indeed have history with the Suicide Squad, which is why he’s appearing in their film, and he’s the one responsible for putting them in Belle Reve, the fictional prison and sanatorium.
While there’s nothing shocking in what any of Snyder and Affleck had to say, it’s nice to get a clearer picture of how they’re approaching the iconic hero. It certainly sounds a hell of a lot different than what we saw with Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, and while it may not be what audiences are necessarily used to, I think it’s going to provide a dark and exciting take on the legendary character.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will hit theatres on March 25, 2016.
