Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - Everything You Need to Know

This article contains potential spoilers for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Justice League movie, and more.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives in theaters on March 25th, 2016. Considering that it's been nearly two years since this movie was announced, saying that it's only one year away still feels like a cruel trick sometimes. Nevertheless, here we are. The movie that will set the stage for the rest of the DC Superhero Movie Cinematic Universe has a lot of work to do, as it will introduce most (if not all) of the Justice League roster.

Here's how this article works: we've got all the newest announcements right up top in this "latest news" section, and then as we go through the piece, more general info and some story-specific spoilers will follow. Read on with care!

The Latest News

The Latest Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice news is all about that trailer. Again. Tracking the details on this trailer has been a job in and of itself over the last few months, but this sounds pretty promising.

Apparently, Zack Snyder will reveal FIVE SECONDS of the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer on April 16th at noon EST. The full trailer may get a theatrical screening (where fans can sign up to see it via a method that's yet to be revealed) on Monday, April 20th. The trailer should also hit the internet next week (assuming this all goes as planned), and will play in front of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Latino Review first reported the news, and then Collidersoon corroborated it, indicating that the trailer runs a hefty two minutes and thirty seconds.

This makes sense. Avengers: Age of Ultron bows internationally on April 23rd, so the timing on this is right. Industry-centric CinemaCon kicks off next week, and Warner Bros. has a big presentation on the 21st. 

But if this ends up not happening, then we'll just have to wait until Mad Max: Fury Roadon May 15th. Regardless, as soon as the trailer arrives, we'll show it to you!

The Basics

We always knew that Man of Steel would be the beginning of a new DC Comics cinematic universe. What we didn't know was that its sequel would be the movie that really introduced the rest of the DC Universe. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice isn't Man of Steel 2, that's for sure, and it's shaping up to be much more than just a Dark Knight Returnsinspired hero vs. hero slugfest.

In fact, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is going to have to do all the heavy lifting that solo movies would ordinarily do, as it will introduce new versions of Batman and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and possibly quite a few others (including the Flash and Robin). By the time the Justice League movie rolls around, you won't have to learn how the team formed, as it looks like this one will have gotten that out of the way for you.

The slogan on that Aquaman poster is "Unite the Seven." While Aquaman is King of the Seven Seas, the seven in question are certainly Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, The Flash, and...someone else. Robin? Nightwing? We haven't heard a thing about Green Lantern being in this movie, but there's still Scoot McNairy's mystery role to consider (more on that below). It seems that Green Lantern is being saved for the Justice League movies, but we'll get you more on this as we hear it.

Batman v. Superman Story

Zack Snyder co-wrote the story with David Goyer, and Chris Terrio (Argo) came in to help write the screenplay. The story draws 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 looks increasingly likely 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. There's a whole mess of DC Comics superhero movies on the slate, including Justice League and Justice League 2, both of which will 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. 

[related article: Complete DC Superhero Movie Release Schedule]

And speaking of all those characters...

Batman v. Superman Heroes

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. There have been some origin flashback sequences filmed, though, because what Batman movie would be complete without young Bruce Wayne sobbing outside of a movie theater, right?  

Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane will also reprise their Man of Steel roles. 

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. We do know that the character's origin will follow the recent New 52 reboot, so she's the daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta.

Here's your first look at Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman:

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 an unspecified role, too. Speculation on his part has ranged from Morgan Edge to Jimmy Olsen to Hal Jordan...we're hoping he's Blue Beetle, but wouldn't count on that. At one point there were rumors that Nightwing (or at least Dick Grayson) would appear in the film, 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. Maybe this is Scoot McNairy's role. We have no clue.

Ray Fisher will play Vic Stone...who is also known as Justice League member, Cyborg. He's also scheduled to get a solo movie in 2020.

After playing games with the press, Jason Momoa is playing Aquaman. Get another look at him in all his magnificence right here:

There is also an Aquaman solo movie in development.

Jena Malone has a role in the movie, although what it is hasn't been revealed. She appears to be playing Carrie Kelley, the female Robin who was introduced in The Dark Knight Returns comic, though. Expect other similarities to that story, too. 

It's been confirmed that Christina Wren will return as Carrie Farris in this one, as well.

Tyrese Gibson posted a bit of fan art depicting him as Green Lantern on his Instagram page with the caption "rumor has it that." This probably means nothing, and I'm waiting on a reply from his representatives (don't worry, I'm not holding my breath), but as Dwayne Johnson showed us with the Shazammovie, sometimes where there's smoke on social media, there's fire. That being said, I've heard that there wouldn't be a Green Lantern appearance in any capacity until the first Justice League movie, but things can change. Meanwhile, there's a Green Lantern solo movie on the calendar for...2020.

[related article: Everything You Need to Know About the Justice League Movie]

Batman v. Superman Villains

The only villain that we're completely sure of is Jesse Eisenberg as 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."

Check out the first image of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. This is actually pretty cool. It looks like a mugshot, and Eisenberg looks plenty menacing...almost like Frank Quitely's Lex Luthor from the pages of All-Star Superman.

 “He’s not any of the Lexes that you’ve seen, that’s for sure,” director Zack Snyder told Entertainment Weekly, “other than him being a captain of industry and one person to the world and another person to himself. And bald, of course....Our Lex is disarming and he’s not fake. He says what he believes and he says what’s on his mind. If you can unravel the string and decipher what he means, it’s all there.”

As for other potential villains? Well...there are indications now that Brainiac is the guy manipulating Batman and Superman into fighting each other, and once his villainous presence is revealed to the world, it will lead directly into the first Justice League movie. We haven't verified this ourselves, but it would make sense.

We're going to see minor baddie the KGBeast as an agent of Luthor's, although probably without a costume or a code name. You can click here for some more details if you want them, but this gets pretty spoiler-y.

There are now persistent and credible reports from a number of outlets that Doomsday is in this movie in some form, as well. The latest comes from ComicBook.com who believe that General Zod's corpse becomes Doomsday thanks to experiments by Lex Luthor. This will allow Michael Shannon to appear in the movie in some form. Shannon was spotted around the set back in November.

Warner Bros. has been itching to get Doomsday on screen to tell some version of the "Death of Superman" story for almost twenty years now. While it would be great to see Doomsday show up, here's hoping they don't try and do the death/resurrection of Supes thing too early.

The Rest

Principal photography began in Detroit in the spring of 2014 and the film shot in locations as diverse as 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. Filming wrapped in December of 2014.

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. Junkie XL is helping out on that front.

And speaking of those Dark Knight movies, one thing that Snyder is now definitely carrying over from Nolan is the use of IMAX cameras. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be partially shot in IMAX.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice opens on March 25th, 2016.

Den of Geek will present a special Batman v. Superman night on March 28th in New York City. Click here for details on how you can join us!