12 Things We Learned About Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice From Empire Magazine

1) Batman V Superman Is An “Expansion” Of The DCU

Unlike how the Marvel Universe is laid out, the creators of Batman V Superman are not calling this film a Man of Steel sequel, an episode or even a phase. Rather, they are calling it an expansion.

Director Zack Snyder and crew are using 2013’s Man of Steel as a launching point for what is now being referred to as the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), playing off the idea that these films are not necessarily linear in fashion, but more like lines extending out in every direction that are all connected in the big picture.

2) Batman V Superman Is NOT The First Time A Movie With Both Heroes Has Been Considered

While Batman V Superman will be the first time that the two iconic superheroes have appeared on the silver screen together, it’s not the first time it’s been attempted.

In the vampire movie I Am Legend starring Will Smith, there is a billboard in the deserted Times Square showing a logo for a Batman vs. Superman movie, an in-joke for a WB film that never made it. There were also plans for a cameo in Tim Burton’s never-made Superman Lives film of Michael Keaton’s Batman to be looking down upon Nicolas Cage’s Superman.