Warner Bros. has revealed the first official photo of Henry Cavill in costume as Superman for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and it’s a suitably atmospheric shot — the darkness of which seems to hint that the Kryptonian is standing in Batman’s (Ben Affleck) Gotham City rather than his own Metropolis.
USA Today unveiled the image of Cavill alongside an interview with director Zack Snyder, who already gave fans a glimpse of Ben Affleck in costume as Batman back in May. The photo comes days after we got our first look at Cavill in costume as Superman’s alter-ego, Clark Kent.
As well as introducing Superman to his iconic nemesis, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), this will be the first big screen meeting of Superman and Batman, although the two have appeared together in numerous comics and TV shows over the years. Much has been made of the “v” in the film’s title, hinting that the two heroes will — in comics tradition — do battle, but Snyder told USA Today that using a “v” as opposed to “vs.” is designed “to keep it from being a straight ‘versus’ movie, even in the most subtle way.” Interpret that how you will.
As for rebooting Batman so close to the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Snyder admitted, “I was in no rush to put Batman in the movie, but on the other hand it seemed organic the way our story was unfolding to start to feather him in.”
“Dawn of Justice” will see an older version of the Caped Crusader than movie fans are used to, because, Snyder reasoned, “it’s cooler to see a crusty old Batman beating the snot out of guys.”
“Dawn of Justice” will also feature appearances from other DC Comics superheroes including Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and Aquaman (Jason Momoa), setting the pieces in place for a long-mooted Justice League movie.
For Snyder’s full interview, visit USA Today.