Ben Affleck's take on Batman in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is expected to be unlike any version of the Dark Knight we've seen on the big screen before - and it's not just because when we meet him he will have been playing superhero for more than 20 years. The movie also offers the first live-action opportunity for the Gotham hero to come face-to-face with Superman... and it turns out the fact that the Krytonian exists in the same world as him will completely shake the Caped Crusader to his core.
For the latest issue of the magazine, Empire recently had the chance to the cast and filmmakers behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it was through these interviews that a picture was painted of how the Man of Steel being on Earth has a deep emotional impact on the Dark Knight. Talking about his approach to the new version of Batman, Zack Snyder explained that the incarnation is thrown for a philosophical loop when he discovers that there are aliens in the world much more powerful than he. The director said,
[Superman] is a paradigm shift for Batman: 'I've been fighting criminals all my life, trying to find justice, and now I am confronted with a concept that is transcendent to me.' In the face of Superman, a man robbing a bank doesn't matter. He's having a crisis of conscience. 'Am I really just a vigilante who stalks the alleys of Gotham?'
The ideas being presented have been an part of Batman's history ever since DC Comics started really creating a larger universe and crossing over characters. As a lone hero of Gotham, Bruce Wayne does everything he can as a mortal man to try and stop corruption and evil... but what do those efforts really mean when there's a guy out there who can catch a crashing airplane with his bare hands or rescue everyone from a burning skyscraper before you can blink? It's worth noting that this is also the same kind of mentality that ultimately drives Lex Luthor's hatred of Superman, so it will be interesting to see how the two characters evolve from that perspective starting point in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The Zack Snyder blockbuster is currently in post-production after filming for the majority of last year in various areas around the country, and the length of the editing process has led us to believe that the folks behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are carving out something truly epic for us. We'll have to wait and see how it all turns out, and how the two heroes will ultimately sort out their personal issues, when the film hits theaters on March 25, 2016.
