Part and parcel of of the infectious excitement swirling around Warner Bros. cinematic universe comes down to the ways in which the studio has opened up the prized DC vault, with its vast swathes of memorable personas, to filmmakers, thereby allowing them to pepper upcoming movies with cameos and nods of fan service.
One such release looming on the horizon is Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. In terms of the DC Expanded Universe, Zack Snyder’s superhero clash is very much acting as ground zero, laying the foundations for a cinematic vision that spans far into 2020.
As a result, Snyder is aware that Dawn of Justice is the gateway point for the moviegoing masses, with plans in place to introduce two key members of the Justice League ensemble in The Flash and Aquaman. But in a recent interview with Hall of Justice, the filmmaker cautioned that these roles are “very small” when compared to the grand scheme of things.
“As far as the other Justice League characters go, they play a very small role,” Snyder confirms. “It’s really just a whisper they exist. Except for Wonder Woman, we see her really well. But really the movie is about Batman and Superman. And we really take time with them and we really drill down on the why of them and what they stand for and their beliefs and them as characters. That’s pretty much the why of the movie. But again as I said, it does begin the conversation about these guys are out there.”
There’s no question that Snyder is already balancing a number of plates when it comes to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and siphoning any more screentime away from the DC Trinity would naturally impact their respective debuts – particularly Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice descends in theaters on March 25. From there, the DC Expanded Universe will unravel to introduce David Ayer’s Suicide Squad later in 2016. Zack Snyder’s two-part Justice League ensemble, meanwhile, will open in theaters come 2017 and 2019.