We’re exactly two weeks away from the debut of Zack Synder’s superhero beatdown flick Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, so it’s about time now that we start hearing about specific scenes in the movie it seems. After years of set leaks and a few months’ worth of trailers and TV spots, today Ben Affleck has backed up a claim that Batman’s first scene in the film “plays like a scene in a horror movie.”
The question comes from the LA Times, who sat down with Affleck, Henry Cavill, and director Zack Synder to discuss all things DC ahead of the film’s release. Speaking about the scene, Affleck said:
It’s like out of “Se7en” or “Aliens” or something, which is a really different vibe. My son still watches the Adam West “Batman” [TV series]. It’s a far cry from where it started.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman films certainly didn’t shy away from brutality, but it’s interesting that the actor immediately backs up the straight-up horror film claim with direct references to such stomach-churning flicks. Guess that’ll make the R-rated Blu-ray cut extra gruesome.
Eventually things turned to what superhero film conversations always do nowadays: R-rated theatrical releases. Synder was the director of one of the first dips into that sub-genre with 2009’s Watchmen, but – as he readily states – audiences simply weren’t ready for it six years ago.
When I had my initial meeting with Chris Nolan about doing “Man of Steel,” he said to me, “‘Watchmen’ is a movie you made too early.” Because that movie was written deep into comic-book culture, as a way of exploring the why of heroes within pop culture. “Deadpool” shows that audiences have now gotten to the point where they can understand the satire of the genre. Before that, audiences were like, “I’m not ready for that. I’m not there yet.”
It’s likely that audiences are now ready for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, given the hype levels surrounding the project in the three years since it was announced following the 2013 summer debut of Man of Steel.
Tell us, what do you think of the horror potential for Batfleck’s entry into the DC Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below.