If there’s one person who knows a thing or two about Batman movies it’s Michael Uslan, executive producer on each of The Dark Knight’s big screen adventures from Tim Burton’s 1989 film through to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (not to mention countless animated movies featuring the Caped Crusader). And of course he’s continuing in that capacity with 2016’s Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman, which has seen a similar outcry over the casting of Ben Affleck as Michael Keaton’s appointment did back in the late 80s. So, what does Uslan make of the controversy?
“I’ve been there before,” Uslan tells Electric Playground (via Man of Steel Fan Page). “People have to believe in Bruce Wayne, to the point of being that obsessed driven psychotic, a guy who would get dressed up as a bat and do what he did. Except I had the benefit of hearing a vision right away. With an Academy Award winning filmmaker – you look at his last bunch of movies. Hollywoodland. He had me convinced he was George Reeves. The Town, Argo, just really, really great quality work. Again, I’ll go back to what Tim [Burton] said, ‘it’s all about Bruce Wayne.’ When you focus on a Bruce Wayne, in his mid-forties, what’s he going to be feeling? What’s he going to be thinking? What does he have on his plate to deal with? I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
Batman vs. Superman is set for release in May 2016 with a cast that also includes Henry Cavill (Superman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), and Jeremy Irons (Alfred Pennyworth).
Originally published February 7, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
