Originally published July 29, 2015. Updated March 1, 2020.
Following hot on the heels of the new Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice images [see here], we’ve now got some quotes from director Zack Snyder from the new issue of Empire Magazine, where he discusses Batman’s (Ben Affleck) role in next year’s DC superhero ensemble, as well as touching upon Justice League and the wider DC movie universe.
“We are playing [Batman] 45 or 46. He has been Batman for 20 years. All the history is there. He has lost those near and dear to him, and not necessarily from old age of disease… We want to assume that Batman has reached this point in his life and career as a superhero, and Superman represents a sort of philiophical change. He is a paradigm shift for Batman: ‘I’ve been fighting criminals all my life, trying to find justice, and now I am confronted with a concept that is transcendent to me.’ In the face of Superman, a man robbing a bank doesn’t matter. He’s having a crisis of conscience. ‘Am I really just a vigilante who stalks the alleys of Gotham?’ It is rich stuff that he deals with. Ben does an amazing job.”
Snyder then went on to discuss the fledgling DC movie universe and the build to Justice League, stating that: “What we are doing is ground up all the way. It is one giant story. The first thing we had was the Justice League concept. The other movies, in a way, have to support that. That is our Wonder Woman, our Aquaman. They have their own creative concepts that supports them, but they do serve Justice League in the coming together of those heroes. I want all the other directors of the other films to be able to stretch their legs and do what they want, but at the same time there is a big interconnected universe. I have given everyone amazing access to our story, to me, and what we are doing. All the films have like minded conceptual jumping on points.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for release on March 25th 2016 and sees Zack Snyder directing a cast that includes returning Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Harry Lennix (General Swanwick) and Christina Wren (Carrie Farris) alongside Ben Affleck (Argo) as Batman, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 6) as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me) as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) as Alfred Pennyworth, Holly Hunter (The Piano) as Senator Finch, Tao Okamoto (The Wolverine) as Mercy Graves, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) as Thomas Wayne and Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of an Empire), and Scoot McNairy (Argo) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.
https://youtu.be/IWWtOQOZSTI?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
