So, how did Snyder decide to include Batman in the sequel? Some have questioned the director’s intentions, insisting that the Caped Crusader’s appearance is more about reaching that billion-dollar box office haul than it is about storytelling. We’ve heard several reports that Batman vs. Superman was in the cards long before the Man of Steel box office numbers came in, and according to Snyder, he tossed the idea around right after work on Man of Steel was complete.
“After Man of Steel finished and we started talking about what would be in the next movie, I started subtly mentioning that it would be cool if he faced Batman. In the first meeting, it was like, “Maybe Batman?” Maybe at the end of the second movie, some Kryptonite gets delivered to Bruce Wayne’s house or something. Like in a cryptic way, that’s the first time we see him. But then, once you say it out loud, right? You’re in a story meeting talking about, like, who should [Superman] fight if he fought this giant alien threat Zod who was basically his equal physically, from his planet, fighting on our turf… You know, who to fight next? The problem is, once you say it out loud, then it’s kind of hard to go back, right? Once you say, “What about Batman?” then you realize, “Okay, that’s a cool idea. What else?” I mean, what do you say after that? …But I’m not gonna say at all that when I took the job to do Man of Steel that I did it in a subversive way to get to Batman. I really believe that only after contemplating who could face [Superman] did Batman come into the picture.”
One of the biggest talking points surrounding the film is its May 6, 2016 release date, which just so happens to be the release date of Marvel’s Captain America 3. Fans on both sides of Marvel/DC fandom have used this release date face-off to fuel their debates online, but in Snyder’s eyes there’s no rivalry at all. In fact, he considers himself a Marvel fan, saying;
“Look, I’m a fan of the Marvel movies… and the thing that’s awesome is, we make a different movie. We have a different product than them, although they both exist in sort of the superhero world, which is great. I think that those are the opportunities. That’s what you get at the movies, you get a chance to go to all these different worlds. And I’m as interested in going to the Marvel Universe as anybody. So, I personally don’t think that there’s any, from my point of view, we definitely don’t have any animosity or anything of that nature. We’re all in this big business together, and we hope people are interested in the adventures that we put up on screen. And I do believe it’s infectious, and the next weekend you’re like, “You know what? Let’s go do that again, that was awesome. We saw a cool movie, maybe we’ll get another cool movie.””
It’s great to hear from Snyder himself that the decisions being made for Batman vs. Superman aren’t a direct response to what Marvel is doing with their properties. Though, of course, that doesn’t mean that the studio heads or marketing departments don’t factor the Marvel/DC rivalry into their plans.
Tell us, what did you think of Snyder’s own geeky excitement about making Batman vs. Superman? Sound off below!