Empire’s cover story on next year’s superhero blockbuster Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was chock-full of new photos and information about what’s surely the most anticipated film of 2016 (all necessary apologies to Finding Dory fanatics), and thanks to Batman-News, we’ve now been able to sort through every sentence of that magazine’s story to pull out some very interesting tidbits.
It was already known that Wonder Woman was beginning to shoot this fall and that Justice League was set to begin filming next spring, but the story indicates that pre-production on the latter film is already well underway.
Additionally, the piece confirms Zack Snyder’s status as the linchpin in Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe. Along with his producer and wife Deborah Snyder and producer Charles Roven, Snyder is overseeing the entire cinematic universe and even has a whiteboard in his office with the whole DCEU sketched out.
According to the story, it was originally Snyder’s idea to put Batman in a Man of Steel sequel, and when the director told The Dark Knight helmer Christopher Nolan what the plan was for Batman V Superman, Nolan was “taken aback” but supportive. It would certainly be interesting to hear that conversation, given how acclaimed Nolan’s take on the Caped Crusader was compared to the mixed critical reception Man of Steel received.
Other than that, the story contains some interesting bits of info about the film. For one, Bats (Ben Affleck) has already met the Suicide Squad, including Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), long before Dawn of Justice. In fact, he put them behind bars.
For another, Batman carries a machine gun at one point in the movie, suggesting that this may be a more hardened, violence-prone Dark Knight than we’ve seen on screen before. He’s certainly had his fair share of hard knocks – Wayne Manor has fallen in disrepair for unknown but likely depressing reasons, and Bruce Wayne has instead set up shop in a lake house referred to by Snyder and company as the “Glasshouse.”
Additionally, the romance between Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) and Lois Lane (Amy Adams) has blossomed, and the two live together in an apartment when Batman V Superman opens. That’s a little surprising, given how unimportant the romance was in Man of Steel. Chances are, there will be enough going on in this movie that it still won’t get prioritized.
Finally, the story contained some details on Wonder Woman. Apparently, her Batman V Superman role is pivotal to shifting the story toward Justice League, and Gal Gadot’s presence on set (and the milestone of her playing such a crucial hero) was enough to reduce Deborah Snyder to tears.
All in all, there’s nothing hugely revelatory here, but it’s very interesting that the more we hear about Affleck’s Batman, the more world-weary and inured he seems. Let’s all remember Alfred’s (Jeremy Irons) quote from the trailer: “That’s how it starts. The fever. The rage. The feeling of powerlessness. That turns good men… cruel.” Is Batman already well on his way to toughening up to the point of out-and-out callousness? It certainly seems that way.
We’ll bring you all the latest on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as we have it. The pic opens March 25, 2016.