This year sees a ton of new comic book movies and DC Comics looks to expand their cinematic universe and make a big splash on the silver screen. With Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad hitting later this year, we will be seeing plenty of what is hopefully a robust and interesting take on some of the most popular characters of the DCU. In a sprawling interview with USA Today, Ben Affleck, Zack Snyder, and Henry Cavill all spoke to their experience and what fans have to look forward too.
Firstly Zack Snyder, the director and over-all helm of the DCU, spoke on what it was like to finally assemble the Justice League. “I love Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman, but having Flash and Aquaman and Cyborg and to see them all standing together, it’s a pretty dorky and cool experience for me. Basically every one of those characters has a logo that you would recognize without them standing there, and that’s a hard thing to achieve in this pop-culture world. We have history to draw on, but we also have these new frontiers to forge.”
Ben Affleck, who plays the iconic Dark Knight then added this when he was asked what it was like to play as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. “Batman is covered up by a suit and sometimes a car and sometimes a lot of vehicles and weapons, whereas Bruce Wayne is much more naked — it’s just you and a suit of clothes,” Affleck stated. “You can’t really play Batman because Batman is different things to different people. We project our own things onto the mythology of what Batman is, and he has to be able to be projected upon. With Bruce Wayne, you have to bring something distinct and new and different.”
Not to be upstaged by the Caped Crusader, Henry Cavill(who plays the Man of Steel) then gave a comment on what it will be like when Batman and Superman face off. “He can sure as hell take Batman out if he wants to, and Batman takes advantage of that. He’s not going to go all-out against the kids because he’ll end up smashing people around. It’s the idea of still wanting to have fun but no one gets hurt, so you’re being careful about where your knees and elbows are going. That’s what Clark is for me, but Superman is far more relaxed. Superman is dad just being dad at home.”
Affleck didn’t want Dawn of Justice taking all of the glory though and said this rather glowing comment regarding Suicide Squad. “It felt like I have such a cool cousin. This thing that is so awesome is somehow related to me, and that was really exciting because it started to feel like a constellation of things, and I’ve never had that feeling.”
Finally, The Last Son of Krypton coyly spoke on the future of the DCU. “There’s a whole world of fantasy in comic books, and if you just focus on one small portion of it, you’re never going to get the full magic of it. Now that we’re introducing all these other characters and really building the universe to a far larger place than just a simple alien’s life on Earth, it really makes it extraordinarily interesting.”
