Ben Affleck hints at Deathstroke clash in new Batman movie

Batman v Superman: director explains why Superman can't win

4 March

It is easy to see why Batman and Superman might find one another difficult. Clark Kent's alter ego represents all-American unilateralism – the might-makes-right attitude common to many advocates of the political machinations of the world's only superpower. Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, has a darker, more nuanced kind of heroism; one driven by revenge and riddled with self-doubt.

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Only now, however, has it been revealed why superheroes, each with their own global fan base, go to war in the forthcoming film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Speaking with DC All Access, via ComingSoon.net, director Zack Snyder explained the Dark Knight's beef with the Man of Steel.

"It's interesting to see how Batman perceives Superman, because he doesn't know who Superman is," he said.

"All he knows is the public face of Superman and if you have an idea about someone or if you start to doubt someone's intentions, you can always read in the media, you can always see the face that you want to see, based on how it's reported.

"Batman's seen the destruction of Metropolis. That's the thing he knows for a fact. So if thousands die, is that okay? What next? Millions? Is everyone okay with that? Because I'm not. That's Batman's point of view."

Meanwhile, Clark Kent is struggling to find his place in the contemporary world.

"Over the last two years, he's basically been Superman as pop culture would know him. He's been righting wrongs, there have been floods, mines have collapsed, bridges have collapsed, churches have caught on fire. He's basically been a hero," Snyder said.

"When we find him, he's been dealing with the everyday world of being a superhero - but there's a paradigm shift happening in that the unintended consequences of some of those rescues are starting to come into fruition. He's starting to see that every action has a reaction. Like, if you're just taking a cat out of a tree, you can't touch anything or the arborists will say, 'He damaged the tree branch when he got the cat down.' Or, 'The cat wasn't neutered, so now there's thousands of cats.' There's no winning anymore for Superman."

By the end of the film, "we know that Superman and Batman are going to become pals," says Collider. "The question is, what will change that makes the two superheroes permanent allies?"

Meanwhile, Frank Miller, the comic book artist credited with providing the inspiration for Batman and Superman's battle has said he won't be seeing the forthcoming film.

Miller's graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns, detailed how a fight between Batman and Superman might unfold.

But in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Miller said that he has no intention of watching the movie.

"No. I didn't make up Batman… I have no right to be possessive, but once I've worked on a character, it's hard to see any other way than my way. By and large, most of what they do, I'll just get grouchy if I see it. So I tend not to look at it, except for few exceptions."

Miller also revealed that he had previously written the script for a Batman movie, with a co-writer Darren Aronofsky, but it was canned because it was too dark.

"It was the first time I worked on a Batman project with somebody whose vision of Batman was darker than mine. My Batman was too nice for him. We would argue about it, and I'd say, 'Batman wouldn't do that, he wouldn't torture anybody,' and so on. We hashed out a screenplay, and we were wonderfully compensated, but then Warner Bros. read it and said, 'We don't want to make this movie.' The executive wanted to do a Batman he could take his kids to."

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released on 25 March.

Batman v Superman: new fight scene shows how Batman could defeat Superman

1 March

Ben Affleck has revealed new footage from the forthcoming superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with a scene hinting at how Bruce Wayne might hope to defeat his all-American rival.

In the short clip, Batman receives an almighty punch from Henry Cavill's Superman before being dumped on the roof of a multi-storey building – and that is only the beginning of the battle.

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The footage offers the first extended view of the fight between the two superheroes that underpins the film.

Batman appears to have summoned Superman to the fight, but once battle begins, the Man of Steel charges and carries the Dark Knight up onto a rooftop – crashing into the building on the way – before smashing him against the bat-signal.

Batman is briefly stunned, but recovers to retaliate in an unexpected way - deploying a smoke canister to obscure Superman's view and making his getaway.

The last son of Krypton charges through the gas, only for Batman to pop up behind him and fire a projectile, which Superman catches easily.

That's where the clip ends, "but it's enough to make it clear what's about to happen next", says Forbes.

"That projectile is probably Kryptonite (either a bullet made of the substance, or a capsule that breaks when Superman grabs it and unleashes Kryptonite gas)."

The new film is said to owe a debt to The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller's graphic novel in which Batman defeats Superman exactly this way.

The forthcoming movie pits the two heroes against one another in an ideological battle. Bruce Wayne fears the actions of a god-like superhero could become dangerous if left unchecked, while Clark Kent disapproves of Batman's vigilantism. Meanwhile, "the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs", ComingSoon.net says.

Affleck debuted the clip during an Oscars special of late night chat show, Jimmy Kimmel Live.

"For people who grew up loving comic books to see Batman fight Superman is unsettling. It challenges everything you've ever believed," Kimmel told the Batman star.

Later in the show, Affleck was joined by Cavill and Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Lex Luthor, and Kimmel for a sketch revealing a "deleted scene" from the hotly anticipated film.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"91599","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

The UK release date of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is 25 March.

Batman v Superman: Affleck rewrote script 'dressed in a Batsuit'

26 February

Ben Affleck continued to rework the script for the forthcoming blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice right down to the last minute – even while he was dressed in his Batsuit getting ready to shoot, according to reports.

The Oscar-winning screenwriter "would go into wardrobe and get all suited up for the day in his Batman suit", an unnamed insider told US Magazine. "Then he would sit around reworking the script."

The source added: "Ben wasn't thrilled with [the script] and would find himself on multiple occasions fixing it the day of."

Affleck's contract reportedly stipulates that in return for taking the role, he would be allowed direct the forthcoming Batman solo film.

That film is already in the works and is being co-written with graphic novel veteran Geoff Johns, Comic Book Resources says. Given that, "it's very possible Affleck had the liberty to work with David Goyer's initial [Batman v Superman] script, even if he only made dialogue edits," the site adds.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be released on 25 March. The Batman solo film hasn't yet been given a release date.

Batman v Superman - a 'behemoth' running time

22 February

Regardless of whether Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is good or bad, one thing is certain: it will definitely be long.

According to an update to the AMC Theatres' website, the film lasts two hours and thirty-one minutes.

This means Dawn of Justice, which has been produced by DC Comics and Warner Bros, will be longer than any film from Marvel to date by almost ten minutes.

Director Zack Snyder "has a penchant for making his films run a bit long", says CinemaBlend, which notes that at 151 minutes, Batman v Superman will last three minutes more than Snyder's previous superhero film, Man of Steel, but is ten minutes shorter than Watchmen.

Insiders are worried the film will turn out to be a flop, according to reports last week, which suggested early internal screenings had been met with a lukewarm reception.

Those concerns are likely unfounded, says Forbes, which argues that due to "presales, tie-ins and merchandising alone", Warner is likely to make a huge profit.

Of course, this does not answer the question of whether the film will be any good or not. "Basically, if Batman v Superman uses its lengthy runtime to tell a great story, then we think the movie has a chance," CinemaBlend says, but "if it branches out into too many different directions and starts to hint at events that will take place later in Warner Bros DC [universe] – the introduction of Darkseid, the Green Lantern Corps etc – then we might start to worry."

Batman v Superman will be released in UK cinemas on 25 March.

Batman v Superman: what will Warner do if the movie is a flop?

18 February

Warner Bros and DC Comics may be preparing to rethink their superhero film release strategy after the forthcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was met with a muted reception in internal screenings, reports say.

The film sees Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent go toe to toe in a grand clash of heroic ideologies. It also features Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Flash to pave the way for further superhero capers from the DC universe.

However, according to Drew McWeeny at HitFix, early viewings haven't been received as positively as the studio hoped. If the film does not turn out to be a smash, it could affect Warner Bros superhero release schedule, with next year's planned Justice League: Part One being hit in favour of a solo Batman film.

"My guess is what's going to happen based on what I'm hearing… is Justice League is going to get moved back and that Ben Affleck Batman movie, that's what's going to end up in that spot," McWeeny said.

He continued: "My guess is they're going to throw whatever money it takes at Ben Affleck to make that Batman film happen sooner rather than later. They're going to need to rebuild again, they're going to need to win people over, [and] they're going to need to lay some different groundwork. I don't think this is going to be the springboard into the Justice League that they wanted it to be."

According to those who have seen Dawn of Justice, the two standouts of the film are Affleck as Batman and Jesse Eisenberg, who is "great" as Lex Luthor, McWeeny says.

If Warner does change its plans like this, it would represent "a titanic shift in DC's release strategy", CinemaBlend's Brent McKnight says.

"There aren't any specifics revealed," he adds, "but it sounds like the studio may not be entirely happy with what's on film."

The main problem, according to Sean O'Connell, also from Cinemablend, appears to be that the producers of the film have been so intent on setting up the next few movies that they have forgotten to make this film work first.

"The subtitle alone, Dawn of Justice, indicates the significance of this movie to the future of the DC Extended Universe," O'Connell says.

There are already numerous sequels in the pipeline, "but what if Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn't please fans?" he asks. "What if it's the DC equivalent of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and its big ideas and attempts at world building fall flat?"

McWeeny's suggestion that Warner may look to move up Ben Affleck's solo Batman film in favour of the planned Justice League movie "could be an option that the studio explores, if need be," O'Connell says. "But it's a reactionary move, not a move being made because it's the smart decision, or the right decision."

Batman v Superman: why super-battle is 'destined to peter out into nothing'

11 February

The mega-heroes' battle that comic-book lovers have waited decades to see is destined to be a damp squib, says The Independent's Ben Child.

The contest between Batman and Superman represents a clash of fundamental ideologies – and the early trailers for Dawn of Justice appeared to set up the battle well, pitting Clark Kent's all-American goodness against Bruce Wayne's vengeance-fuelled vigilantism.

More recently, though, the clash has been "hamstrung" by "a confusing trailer that shows the two superheroes eventually making up to take on a greater threat – possibly a Lex Luthor-controlled Doomsday", says Child.

Even if the film's director, Zac Snyder, has held some plot details back, the very existence of two planned Justice League films in 2017 and 2019 makes it "fairly apparent that the greatest battle in superhero history – the reason everyone is going to see the movie in the first place, for freak's sake – is destined to peter out into nothing".

It's worse than that, says The Guardian's Nicholas Barber. The new crop of superhero films and Star Wars spin-offs has killed off happy-ever-afters once and for all.

"Have we reached the end of endings?" he asks. "In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne turned his back on both Batman and Gotham City so he could swan around Florence with Selina Kyle. But in this year’s Batman v Superman, the poor chap is having to squeeze into his rubber suit once again."

He adds: "Popular culture has been geekified to the point where fans can take to the internet in their thousands to demand more content about their favourite characters, and where corporations are only too glad to monetise those demands."

Batman v Superman is out on 25 March and will be followed by Wonder Woman in June 2017, The Justice League Part One the following November and then The Flash and Aquaman in 2018.