Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25, 2016)

...and what little interest I had evaporates!

Well, it's an improvement on the previously-mooted Orlando Bloom. Having said that, didn't think Affleck stood much of a chance of being cast as a superhero again after Daredevil.

Also should be noted the film has a release date: July 17, 2015.

I think I'm rooting for Affleck just to prove the Internet wrong. Granted, he probably wouldn't be my first choice, but at least they didn't go with Justin Bieber or something.

Python wrote:

-Have a series of incredibly talented martial artist stuntmen do the fights and stunts.

-Make him Batman the detective.

Unfortunately in the context of a title like Batman Vs Superman I fear the detective side of things is going to struggle to find any significant presence but that is an avenue that really has not been explored cinematically to date and could really work well on film.

As to the martial arts, I prefer the idea of using Stealth to making it seem Bats can just wipe out any degree of odds, the first time he takes on Falconi in Batman Begins (although it gets criticism) is just how I could see him working, exploiting the dark, scaring the be-jesus out of them and picking them off one by one etc.

I was probably hasty in giving up on Affleck, even Keaton seemed an odd choice to begin, so best to keep an open mind.

Does anyone truly care at this point?
The last two movies with Bale were rather poor anyway, I'm not sure how a Snyder helmed feature is supposed to be any good regardless of who plays Batman...

Salomé wrote:

I'm not sure how a Snyder helmed feature is supposed to be any good regardless of who plays Batman...

So you've seen MAN OF STEEL?

No and I have no intention to see it either.
The last Snyder movie I gave a chance was "Sucker Punch", which was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Salomé wrote:

No and I have no intention to see it either.

Then don't write him off if you didn't see his last film. We all agree that SUCKER PUNCH was wank, but that's down to the script more than anything.

If this turns out as bloated, humourless and unmemorably-scored as Man Of Steel ... who fucking CARES?

Blunt Instrument wrote:

If this turns out as bloated, humourless and unmemorably-scored as Man Of Steel ... who fucking CARES?

Zimmer's MAN OF STEEL was a fucking masterpiece.

Cunt.

;) 

So how come Christian Bale isn't doing this?

Also, will we see the likes of Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Gordon, or will Affleck's Batman have an all-new "team"?

Largo's Shark wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

If this turns out as bloated, humourless and unmemorably-scored as Man Of Steel ... who fucking CARES?

Zimmer's MAN OF STEEL was a fucking masterpiece.

Cunt.

;) 

Could whistle you Williams' Superman theme right now. Can't even remember if Zimmer had one.

I can't whistle.

/no homo

Loomis wrote:

So how come Christian Bale isn't doing this?

Also, will we see the likes of Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Gordon, or will Affleck's Batman have an all-new "team"?

Bale's been relatively adamant that he's done with the character. Seems like he has no interest in being involved with if it's not Chris Nolan's baby.

And I doubt we'll be seeing anyone from the Nolanverse.

Loomis wrote:

So how come Christian Bale isn't doing this?

Also, will we see the likes of Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Gordon, or will Affleck's Batman have an all-new "team"?

It's not set in the same "universe", it's a new version of the character, more or less.

Agreed. Snyder has a certain flair that almost swayed me when I actually saw SUCKER PUNCH, during the first five minutes. Then the script got really stupid.

Sucker Punch was written by Snyder himself, so how can you give him a pass for that?  

Supes will have to be somehow significantly weakened for this to be any sort of a fair(er) fight, no?

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Supes will have to be somehow significantly weakened for this to be any sort of a fair(er) fight, no?

Well, Superman got fucked up by a nuke before he lost to Batman in The Dark Knight Returns, so that seems probable.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Loomis wrote:

So how come Christian Bale isn't doing this?

Also, will we see the likes of Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Gordon, or will Affleck's Batman have an all-new "team"?

It's not set in the same "universe", it's a new version of the character, more or less.

But I thought David Goyer was co-writing this film and that Christopher Nolan was one of the producers.* I do understand that this is not supposed to be a straight sequel to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but at the same time I don't see why it shouldn't have yer Caines and yer Oldmans (or indeed Bale) involved.

My view is that an established audience favourite as Batman might be preferable to "a new version of the character, more or less". If the viewer already has some history with Bale's Batman, having followed his adventures for three films already, it might increase the sense of involvement as he takes on Superman.

Do we know whether Bale was asked to return for this film?

*Mind you, I suppose one could say that A VIEW TO A KILL and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, for instance, exist in different "universes", even though they share much of the same creative team.

Rumors suggest that Bale was offered a staggering $60 million payday to return as Batman.

That said, they're just rumors. A recent Hollywood Reporter story states that Affleck was the first choice from the start, but that it was all very hush-hush.

Harmsway wrote:

I would very much prefer this to feel like a Superman film in which Batman features, rather than the other way around.

From what I can gather from reading this thread I'd say that you'll be getting what you want. If the likes of Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne are returning, surely this will feel, essentially, like a sequel to MAN OF STEEL (although for all I know that's precisely the idea).

Personally, I'd like to it to be 50/50 Batman and Superman, with neither character really dominating the film. A De Niro/Pacino HEAT-type thing for the superhero genre.

And, of course, I'm sorry that we won't be having the Batman of the "Nolanverse". One could argue that the world of Nolan's Batman is fundamentally too "realistic" to be crossed over with the world of Superman and that it would consequently be too awkward a combination, although I'm not sure that I'd agree with that.

The issue seems to be that DC is trying to replicate the "shared cinematic universe" success of Marvel, but they botched it because SUPERMAN RETURNS was a sequel to some old movies from the 70s and then was never followed up and by the time MAN OF STEEL rebooted Superman their successful Batman series had already ended, and GREEN LANTERN was a flop, and they're trying to pull a cross-over out of their ass without having the pieces ready for it.

Say what you will about Marvel's efforts in the lead-up to AVENGERS, but by planning for it in advance and structuring things with the eventual cross-over in mind, it made the movie that resulted feel much more natural.

Yeah, is it truly a crossover if 50% of the ingredients (i.e. the Affleck "half") didn't exist already but were created for this film?

Not that there's much point in complaining, I suppose. The decision has been made. Affleck is Batman. And I think he'll be good, as it happens. It just strikes me as a missed opportunity not to have Bale and his, erm, Batverse in this flick.

Salomé wrote:

Sucker Punch was written by Snyder himself, so how can you give him a pass for that?  

I'm not giving him a pass as a screenwriter. He's better off working with a real writer like in his other films.