Ben Affleck hints at Deathstroke clash in new Batman movie

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 'will not be what fans expect,' director says

23 October

The Week

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Set in the era of Ronald Reagan, the comic features an aging Batman who comes out of retirement to battle Superman, who in his view has become too closely linked with American imperialism. Of course, a mere mortal like Bruce Wayne is no match for the mighty alien Kal-El who is invulnerable to everything, except tiny (and curiously commonplace) glowing fragments of ore from his home planet, Krypton. So he jacks himself into the mains of Gotham City for the mother of all punch-ups.

The trailer to the hotly-anticipated forthcoming film, which is set for UK release in March of next year, features many of these same elements, leading most fans to conclude that the film will be a carbon copy of the famous comic. But in an interview with Comic Book resource this week, Snyder denied that there was any direct connection, claiming the movie was sufficiently different from the comic that The Dark Knight could still be used as the basis for another picture.

Actor Michael Shannon, who is due to reprise his role as General Zod in the upcoming film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, has let slip a rather bizarre twist for the character.Shannon played General Zod, a warlord from Superman's home planet of Krypton, in the 2013 film Man of Steel. Although he died at the hands of Henry Cavill's Superman, eagle-eyed fans spotted the corpse of the villain in the Batman v Superman trailer released earlier this year.Shannon hinted at a strange new development for Zod during an interview with Vulture. "I was in my costume, and I couldn't use my fingers because in the sequel I have flippers instead of hands. "So I had these wax flippers on my fingers, and I couldn't open the door, and I could hear Zack [Snyder, the director] being like, 'Where's Shannon? Where the f*** is he?'"And the whole crew was standing around. I was like, knocking on the door with my flippers, 'Let me out of here!'"

But Christopher Hooton, writing for The Independent, says: "Zod is unlikely to become amphibious in the sequel, more likely is that Shannon was wearing some sort of motion capture mitts."Cinema Blend has previously suggested that Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor might transform the corpse of General Zod into the monster Doomsday, famed for his giant protruding bones, which would almost certainly need to be recreated by CGI.

An image of Superman being touched by dozens of fans has prompted several comparisons between Henry Cavill's superhero and Jesus – a parallel that has been made many times over the years. Cavill tells Entertainment Weekly: "I like to think that Man of Steel was the perspective of the world from Clark, Kal-El, looking at the world and trying to exist within it. Batman v Superman is definitely more mankind's perspective of Superman."

The death of Bruce Wayne's parents is a key moment in the superhero's mythology. After both parents are killed by a petty criminal in a street robbery, the young Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to fighting crime, ultimately adopting the role of Batman.Further set leaks have hinted at other key moments from the forthcoming film, including a scene where protesters take to the streets of Gotham City waving placards with anti-Superman messages written on them, ScienceFiction.com reports.

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