The curious case of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a long and winding tale, one that makes it sound as though nobody was particularly happy with the movie that got put out into the world, and Warner Bros. apparently headed up the list of disgruntled creative partners.
The blockbuster may have earned $873 million at the box office, but surely a billion was the lowest ceiling for an epic crossover fans had always wanted to see. Critics largely panned the film, Zack Snyder revealed that Warner Bros. hated it, writer Chris Terrio has blasted the theatrical cut on countless occasions, and the word Martha is still enough to send a shiver down the spine of many a DCEU supporter.
Matthew Vaughn was under consideration for both Man of Steel and a sequel he pitched that never really came close to getting a green light from the studio, but he admitted in an interview with The Wrap that dropping Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight into the mix so soon was a mistake.
“I just thought it was a mistake putting the Batman vibe into the Superman world. I just think they’re two separate — they’re just not relatable in any way, in my mind. It should be fun. I mean, look, The Dark Knight was obviously different, and it made sense and it was brilliant, as a film and as a comic. But Superman was always… I loved the [Richard] Donner Superman movie, and I think Wonder Woman worked because, I think, Wonder Woman was basically remaking Superman in a weird way. Yeah, I love Superman.”
You can’t help but agree with him, because Henry Cavill’s Kal-El would have been much better served by a sequel before we got to Batman v Superman, having only just completed his origin story. The entire operation is far too overstuffed for its own good, and it has to go down as a glaring missed opportunity to deliver one of the best comic book adaptations ever.
