Zack Snyder talks BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE; reveals first pic of Henry Cavill in costume

You don’t need to possess x-ray vision or be the world’s greatest detective to know that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a rather silly title. It’s too long, too clumsy (not to mention not centered on the official logo – take that, OCD sufferers!) and replacing “vs.” with just “v” makes very little sense. Well, that is unless you’re Zack Snyder.

Speaking to USA Today, the director explained that there’s a very good reason why the title was changed from it’s original Batman vs. Superman, as it has to do with how the titular heroes engage with one another.

The director can’t say exactly how the relationship between the two superheroes evolves, “but suffice it to say there is a ‘v’ in between their names” in the movie title, Snyder says. He explains that having the “v” instead of “vs.” is a way “to keep it from being a straight ‘versus’ movie, even in the most subtle way.”

Okay, that kind of makes sense. If you turn your head sideways and squint your eyes a bit, I guess.

Snyder goes on to explain that having this dynamic wasn’t part of his original plans though, as he was just looking to do a Man of Steel sequel, while the Dark Knight was to be given some shelf time after Chris Nolan had recently completed his Dark Knight Trilogy. But as inevitably happens in this business, plans change. Especially when said new plans involve something that will get the fanboys in a frenzy.

“I was in no rush to put Batman in the movie, but on the other hand it seemed organic the way our story was unfolding to start to feather him in.”

“It’s never really been done and it’s kinda cool.”

What also help, is that this Batman, played by Ben Affleck as the internet will always remind you, is a marked departure from Christian Bale’s take on him in the Nolan movies, with Snyder describing his Dark Knight as “a crusty old Batman beating the snot out of guys.”

And based on this very grim and moody-looking first pic of Henry Cavill back in his Man of Steel duds for this movie, that may be something that Superman will take some umbrage with (of course forgetting that he nearly levelled a city beating the snot out of some other guys).

That definitely looks like a Superman that’s a lot more sure of himself, which is exactly what Snyder and co are going for, saying that Man of Steel was about “finding his place in the world as both a hero and as a man”. He showed that when he saved Metropolis (well the few pieces left standing) from his biggest challenge, Zod, but now Snyder has the fun task of “trying to figure out what to put in front of him that’s difficult.”

While she may not necessarily be difficult but could still add a new flavour to the mix, Wonder Woman – the third member of DC Comics’ vaunted Trinity – will also be introduced in the movie, brought to life on the big screen for the first time by Fast and Furious star Gal Gadot. While there may have been a few set pics of Gadot assumedly in her civilian identity of Diana Prince, Snyder revealed that he’s yet to shoot any scenes of her in character as Wonder Woman, though he indicates that the Israeli-born former model is “working out and getting buff and ripped” for the role.

This would mean that expectations that we were going to see the first pic of her in costume unveiled at Comic-Con in a few weeks time should be severely curbed. If I had to hazard a guess, Snyder will probably unveil something to do with Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, as well as a teaser to get the fanboy blood pumping for all that “v-ing” that we expect. Actually, as Snyder summarizes so succinctly, any reveal would probably do the trick.

“You can talk all you want about other superhero movies, but it’s Batman and Superman, let’s just be honest. I don’t know how you get bigger than that.”

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled for release on May 6, 2016 (by the way, that’s the same release day as Captain America 3, who may have something to say about that last claim).

Last Updated: July 4, 2014