Much has been made of the upcoming tonal shift in the DC Extended Universe in the wake of the criticism aimed towards Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Zack Snyder’s Justice League said to be much lighter and “a lot more fun” than its predecessor. And now, Batman v Superman second unit director Damon Caro has echoed that sentiment, describing Justice League as a “rebirth” for the DCEU, whilst revealing that Dawn of Justice was always intended to be much darker.
“On Man of Steel, in [Zack Snyder’s] head he had the storyline treatment of where they were going to go, and at the beginning of BvS it was even richer and deeper,” Caro told Heroic Hollywood. “The arc was BvS was the midway point and the darker movie. Hence what happens at the end; the whole tone of it was darker. If you play your story all at one level, there are no peaks and valleys, there’s no life. The great stories, the Greek tragedies, even life we have to be knocked down before we can build our way up. Justice League was always the rebirth of hope and the rise. People try to say that it’s a response to the backlash, and I’d definitely say that criticisms were heard, but it’s not like we threw everything out and started with a blank slate. It’s a bit like Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? Dark movie! But then Return of the Jedi is the rise and the rebuilding of hope.”
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Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League will reunite Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Mamoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta alongside J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard (The Danish Girl) as Mera, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Vulko, Kiersey Clemons (Dope) as Iris West, Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones) as Steppenwolf and Julian Lewis Jones (Stella) in an as-yet-unrevealed role. It is set for release on November 17th 2017.
Originally published February 10, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
