In case you’re among the three people who haven’t yet seen Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – and if you are, why are you reading this? – the Big Boy Blue Scout dies at the end of the film. He meets his maker thanks to Doomsday, but as we’ve been told several times now, he’ll be back to help out Bats and co. by the time Zack Snyder’s Justice League rolls around this November.
How exactly he’ll be resurrected hasn’t been revealed just yet, but given that Supes hasn’t been too involved in the marketing for Warner Bros.’ blockbuster up to this point, it’s led us to believe that he won’t have a very large role in the flick. Many assume that he’ll only be brought back near the end, after we’ve already had the chance to spend ample time with fresh faces like the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg.
According to Snyder though, that’s just not true. Sitting down with Empire (who premiered a new still earlier today), the director set the record straight:
“Superman does play a big part in this movie. His presence and lack of presence, they’re big story points.”
Of course, no one expected the Man of Steel to just show up for a quick hello right at the end of the film, but to hear that he plays a big part in Justice League is definitely surprising. For one, if they resurrect him too soon it kind of undermines the whole decision to kill him off in the first place, doesn’t it?
Not only that, but this film needs to introduce audiences to Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash, and ensure that we’re familiar enough with them before each of their own respective solo outings arrive in theaters. If Snyder places too much focus on Superman’s arc, he may not leave enough room for those other heroes to shine.
It’s a tricky task, dealing with the resurrection of the Big Boy Blue Scout, and we really have very little indication as to how the film will handle it. From what we’ve heard, Justice League will apparently take cues from The Death of Superman arc from the comics – including the black costume – but we’re still unsure of how exactly everything will go down.
To say there’s a lot riding on Zack Snyder and this particular project right now would be the understatement of the year. The director has got to nail it and if Justice League proves to be anything but a bonafide critical and commercial success, Warner Bros.’ entire DC Extended Universe runs the serious risk of collapsing – especially if those Wonder Woman rumors prove to be true.
Until we see more from the blockbuster, we don’t want to pass too much judgement, but let’s just hope that the resurrection of Superman is handled properly and that it doesn’t end up taking too much time away from some of the newer characters – who audiences are no doubt looking forward to getting to know.