The DC superhero film is going to set up the Justice League movie. Here's everything we know about Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
When Man of Steel arrived, fans were promised the start of a DC cinematic universe to rival Marvel's. At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, the announcement was made that Man of Steel 2 would be more than just a sequel, and instead plant the seeds of a Justice League movie. The film, now titledBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released on May 6th, 2016. Here is everything we know so far!
The Story
Zack Snyder is co-writing the story with David Goyer (who will then pen the screenplay), which is said to draw some inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns, the classic story by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley which climaxed with an impressive street fight between Batman and Superman. While there are likely going to be some similarities, Goyer has stated that the film won't be an adaptation of that work. It seems possible that some of their conflict may stem from the controversial ending to Man of Steel, as Mr. Goyer promised, "we will be dealing with this in coming films...He isn't fully-formed as Superman in [Man of Steel], and he will have to deal with the repercussions of that in the next one."
As for what else Batman vs. Superman has in store, well...it looks like we're going to get a gathering of heroes. The next film after this one has officially been revealed as a Justice League movie, which will also be directed by Zack Snyder. We figure that whatever differences Bats and Supes have with each other in this one should be resolved by the time they get around to Super Friends: The Movie. A recent report indicates that Warner Bros. is finally ready to round out their movie calendar with a flurry of DC superhero movies, so this one may have some heavy lifting to do in order to introduce all of these characters.
And speaking of all those characters...
The Cast
Henry Cavill will return as Superman and Ben Affleck will play Batman/Bruce Wayne. Affleck fits the mold of the "older and wiser" Batman who "bears the scars of a seasoned crimefighter" that Warner Bros. was looking for, which neatly sidesteps the need to re-establish Batman's origins on screen once again.
While the first live-action meeting of Batman and Superman is historic enough, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice goes even further, by introducing Wonder Woman into the mix, played by Gal Gadot. There's no word yet on just how large her role in the film will be, but this will mark the first appearance of Wonder Woman on the big screen, and her first live-action appearance (not counting an unaired NBC television pilot from a few years back) since Lynda Carter hung up her bracelets in 1979.
Here's your first look at Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman:
At least one villain has finally been cast, though. Jesse Eisenberg is taking on the role of Superman's arch-foe, Lex Luthor. David Goyer has stated that "Lex [Luthor] in this world is more a Bill Gates or Rupert Murdoch like character. He's probably a multi, multi billionaire. He's not a crook." While this quote comes from an interview that was conducted well before the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice announcement, Goyer's vision for Lex would certainly put him in the same social circles as someone like Bruce Wayne. Zack Snyder describes Luthor as "a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman."
Jeremy Irons will play Batman's right-hand man, Alfred Pennyworth. While we don't know how much from previous incarnations of the character Irons will draw on, Alfred is described by Zack Snyder as "Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman."
Recently, the film has added three supporting castmembers in unidentified (but not comic book based) roles. Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey, and Tao Okamoto have joined the cast in roles created specifically for the film. Scoot McNairy has also joined the cast in another unspecified role.
Ray Fisher will play Vic Stone...who is also known as Justice League member, Cyborg.
Jason Momoa's name keeps getting brought up in connection with the film, with the most recent report indicating that he has signed up to play Aquaman. It sounds like that's indeed the case. Other, less reliable reports indicate that Matt Damon is connected to the Aquaman role.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may or may not be part of this particular movie, but he's made no secret of the fact that he's meeting with Warner Bros. for an unspecified DC-related project.
Unconfirmed rumors indicate that the word is out for Dick Grayson, in his secret identity as Nightwing, to make an appearance, with Adam Driver's name initially having surfaced as a contender for the role. However, Driver has denied any involvement with the project, and his current commitments to the new Star Wars trilogy now safely rule him out.
In other news, fans hoping for an appearance by Arrow star Stephen Amell are likely to be disappointed, as the star has flatly stated that he isn't in the movie.
As for the other villains besides Lex Luthor, they have yet to be revealed. A recent report suggests that minor Batman baddie villain Victor Zsasz is in the film, along with other DC Comics supporting characters like Amanda Waller and Morgan Edge. That info seems to come from a fake script that is making the rounds, however.
The Rest
Principal photography began in Detroit on May 6th, 2016, and will continue in Illinois, Africa, and the South Pacific. Some second-unit filming already took place, including at a football game between rival college teams from Metropolis and Gotham (this might be where Vic Stone/Cyborg is introduced), as well as locations in Illinois which have doubled as the Kent farm. Spy photos from the sets are starting to emerge around the web, as well, including shots of the LexCorp headquarters and a Superman statue under construction.
Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane will also reprise their Man of Steel roles. Batman vs. Superman is produced by Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder. Hans Zimmer will return to provide the score for the movie. However, when Zack Snyder stated that they'd want Mr. Zimmer back "as long as he'll have us" he also seemed to confirm that Zimmer wouldn't reuse any previous Batman themes, in order to distinguish this version of the character from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will open in the US on May 6th, 2016.
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Disqus - noscript
... Besides the Ben Affleck as Batman part ... It all sounds GREAT!
If they left Batman out and replaced Zack Snyder this would be a great movie!
Agreeing with the "it sounds great except for Ben Affleck" thing. He doesn't fit the mold of an "older and seasoned Batman" let alone just "Batman."
Seriously aren't you people forgetting one thing about Batman. He's a figure that can be constantly reinvented, this version is gonna be different deal with it.
Holy links, Batman!
Zack Syder, please do not change wonder womans origin. Kryptonian amazons is the worst idea. Do not do it. Do not power down wonder woman. Stay true to the comics do not screw wonder woman up. If you want to make the greek gods aliens fine, but not from krypton. Give us the wonder woman we all know and love...if anyone can pull this off it is you, but no kryptonian amazons or de-powered wonder woman. I would rather you not use her than see you screw her whole history up. Stay true to wonder woman.
It's stupid because never ever in her origin has any writer turned her into a Krptionian throughout her 73 something years. I also never ran into any alien versions. That means she would have the same weakness as a Kryptonian same powers and same body structure. No connection to magic and the greek side of DC. ugh smh
True. ZS is pretty flat when it comes to plots and BA isn't great for batman. I personally would build upon the cosmic aspect of DC since Earth was just attacked by aliens. Introduce more of them. Show that Martins and GL were looking at the battle, seeing Earth already has a guardian
it might be a bad version though
a version that has to be able to be on his A game at all times in order to live in a world of aliens and gods? (like the comics) I think we're going to see the best Batman ever in this movie. the world around him is only going to bring out his strengths and true potential
"Here's hoping that means it has some blue and grey...and maybe a yellow oval. " let's hope not. These movies are modern, not Silver Agey.
They wouldn't be Kryptonian Amazons. At best, they could be descendants of Kara Zor-El 18000 years removed from their ancestor. That doesn't make them Kryptonian in the least. Kara's Kryptonian DNA would degrade after 18000 years of mixing with human DNA.
Don't screw up Wonder Woman. Don't screw up Wonder Woman. Don't screw up Wonder Woman.
Even if Batfleck does turn out to be terrible, it won't be as terrible either way because the Nolan trilogy still exists to prove to the general public that Batman can be awesome.
If they mess up Wonder Woman, people will blame it on the character, and that will be the end of DC investing in anything other heroines/female supervillians in future movies.
So don't freaking screw up Wonder Woman please.
Yes but it would make her essentially a subplot of Superman and an inferior version of Supergirl. Wonder Woman should be her own hero with her own origin story. I don't mind the alien angle, but *not* Kryptonian!!!
It's a matter of confining these things to a single source, like Hyperion's spaceship in JMS' Supreme Power, the White Event in newuniversal, and Solar in the original VALIANT Universe.
Rather than have all these disparate things going on, were the rumor to prove true, it would seem to be their attempt at having one common origin for all things. In this case, Krypton.
Which is awful idea. So every superhero and every supervillian will be from Krypton? That's one awfully dull universe they're creating there.
Everyone thought Michael Keaton was a joke too, but look how that turned out. Give Batfleck a chance.
I didn't say they'd be from Krypton. Think of Krypton as you would the Garden of Eden. It's from all things flow. In theory.
Well, or the Superboy version. It's not only Smallville that made Lex Luthor the same age and childhood friend/rival of Clark Kent.
I'm hoping that a) they'll keep some semblance of Wonder Woman's original origin and not turn the Greek gods into aliens; Marvel got there first. Of course, they don't even need to get into Diana's origin in this movie so much anyway; leave that for JL or her own feature.
b) Kara Zor-El eventually appears as Supergirl-as-we-know-her, not in this film but in another MoS sequel.
Personally, after having been surprised by Michael Keaton 25 years ago, I don't dread Affleck in the role, and the fact that his writer has taken over the script is something I take as a Good Thing.
Now, to wait for Zack to get his $8000 camera out again and post a pic of an Amazon Princess....
Wonder woman needs to stay true to her comic orgin and she needs to stay powerful.
Dwayne Johnson will be playing a member of Section Eight, probably either Friendly Fire or the Defenestrator, but Bueno Excelente cannot be ruled out.
Clusterfuck in the making?
nothing could be worse than george clooneys version trust me on that that was the worst portrayal ever
I went to a lecture given by Goyer last year in London and he mentioned having the empty pod on the ship was a device to explain where mythical figures like Gilgamesh could have originated from. I wouldn't be too surprised if it's worked into the story that Amazonians and Atlanteans have their origins in Kryptonians or other races visiting Earth (could be a way to introduce some of the other DC planets like Thanagar).