'Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice' Movie News & Cast: Ben Affleck Pal Kevin Smith Shares Warner Bros. Justice League Plans
Last week Warner Bros. officially announced the title to the "Man of Steel" sequel as "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" amid production breaking ground.
While the title obviously hints that the studio, along with the films' director Zack Snyder, has a plan set in motion for a future feature length Justice League film, fanboys have been wondering how the process would differ from the road map Marvel Studios has planned out with its cinematic universe.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith has been no stranger to the details of the upcoming superhero epic as he got to see the new Batsuit months before the official photo was released earlier this month. Earlier this week, Smith revealed Warner's future plans with the DC Comics cinematic universe.Speaking on the Hollywood Babble-on podcast, Smith said that "Dawn of Justice" is not a sequel to the 2013 Superman blockbuster. Instead, it's a continuation of one giant story that builds toward the Justice League, where characters will continue to join during the course of five to six films.
"They're obviously beginning something ... and so this is the beginning of the Justice League, as we all suspected as they were announcing that cast. We were like, 'This is the beginning of a Justice League movie,'" Smith said. "From what I understand now, it's no longer like, 'This is Superman 2.' They're not doing these things. They're doing like, 'Here's Man of Steel. Here's 'Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.' The next one is not like a sequel to one of the characters. They're just going to keep building their universe for about five or six movies. But all of [the movies] ... it's supposed to tell on massive story, which is all Justice League oriented."
While the studio has not disclosed such plans to the public, given Smith's close relationship with both Snyder and Ben Affleck, who signed on to play the role of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, his words could be taken seriously.
The alleged Warner Bros. model for its comic book universe is certainly different from Marvel's plan, where each character has been or will be introduced in their own standalone film. However, it does seem to be a likely alternative to just producing a copycat series.
More details are bound to follow as production carries on throughout the rest of the year, but for right now, comic book fans can still rejoice in seeing the World's Finest duo battle it out on the silver screen for the first time.
"Dawn of Justice" stars Affleck alongside Henry Cavill reprising his leading role and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons and Jesse Eisenberg also join. and Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne return for the May 6, 2016 release.