Dawn Of Justice Exclusive: First Look At Superman And Interview With Zack Snyder
By Steve Lam
Can I first say that Twitter is a bad thing? It’s around 3:00AM PST, and I’m ready to go to bed when my Twitter feed updates me with this message:
"Exclusive #BatmanvSuperman: Dawn of Justice photo and interview with director @ZackSnyder@USATODAY. http://usat.ly/VHfifG"
Not only am I staying up late to read this article, but my heart is racing so fast that I actually can’t go to sleep. I will have my revenge on you Twitter. Mark my words!
From our friends at USA Today, we not only get an exclusive interview from director Zack Snyder, but a first look at Henry Cavill as Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I’m not a sadist so I’m going to post the picture of Superman first and dig right into it:
From the get-go, we see that not much has changed from Man of Steel. In older reports, there were rumors that the Superman suit was getting some changes. This isn’t to say that with a keen fanboy’s eyes, we can’t see some modifications. Let’s start from the top and work our way down. Superman seems to have gotten a haircut or more hair gel to keep that coif perfect. The sides look tighter, and the hair looks more controlled than in Man of Steel. Next up, the cape anchors. I’m noticing that they’re slanting with the “S” chest emblem as opposed to being perfectly horizontal. Moving further down, we get to the gold pieces that act as his belt. Notice the middle piece that’s supposed to represent the buckle? It’s rectangular. In Man of Steel, the buckle piece was actually oval, which harkened back to most of the Supermans of the past. Going down to his super-boots, we can definitely see a change there. The V-cut now has a thicker border instead of thin piping. Here’s a picture of Henry Cavill in Man of Steel so you can spot the differences compared to the just-released image:
Even though the released Dawn of Justice picture of Superman has a virtually unchanged suit, this doesn’t mean that Superman won’t go through an outfit change in the movie. Kevin Smith originally proposed an idea that Batman may have multiple Bat-suits and mutliple Batmobiles in the film. Who’s to say Superman doesn’t have another suit. The scheduled release is still two years away, so there are endless possibilities.
Looking at the overall image of Superman in Dawn of Justice, you can’t help but question, “Where is he?” Well, let’s see — grey skies, raining, smokestacks shooting pollution into the air — where else? Gotham City. It has to be. And if you read further, the reasoning behind this assessment will become apparent.
In the article, Snyder discusses his plans in building a compelling movie universe. In his own words:
"By bringing in more DC Comics do-gooders such as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), the new movie is thicker, denser and more epic than Man of Steel."
Dawn of Justice will be a stepping stone to the eventual Justice League movie with a preliminary release date set for 2018. Snyder goes on to make every fan greener than the Martian Manhunter’s skin tone when he talks about the day-to-day workings:
"It’s not an un-fun job, I will say that."
One difference the audience will see between Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice is that Man of Steel was about Superman trying to fit into our world as a hero and a citizen. In Dawn of Justice, Clark will continue to grow and settle in by working at the Daily Planet. Here’s the interesting part — it will also take Superman to new environments like Gotham City!
The decision to put an older Batman into Dawn of Justice was an easy one for Snyder. He originally wanted to create a big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Because of The Dark Knight Trilogy, Snyder didn’t feel compelled to put out another Batman movie. So he did the next best thing. With an already rich 75-year backstory and huge popularity, Snyder decided to place an older, grizzled Batman into the movie. Snyder put it best when he said:
"It’s cooler to see a crusty old Batman beating the snot out of guys."
In regards to the relationship between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, the director remained silent on the matter and offered only this little hint to USA Today:
"The director can’t say exactly how the relationship between the two superheroes evolves, “but suffice it to say there is a “v” in between their names” in the movie title, Snyder says. He explains that having the “v” instead of “vs.” is a way “to keep it from being a straight ‘versus’ movie, even in the most subtle way.”"
With all this talk about Superman and Batman, let’s not forget about the Goddess of Truth herself — Wonder Woman. Snyder hasn’t shot any scenes with Gal Gadot yet, but he assures us that “she’s working out and getting buff and ripped.”
There you have it, a great look at Superman in his next outing. On top of that, Snyder gave us some hints and teases.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has a worldwide release date of May 6, 2016. It will be directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio from a story by David Goyer and Zack Snyder, and will star Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, and Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth.