Innocent photograph shared from the set of Batman vs. Superman … or an elaborate tease for the possible appearance of a legendary villain?
That has been the debate on various corner of the ‘Net today after Man of Steel 2 cinematographer Larry Fong shared a simple photograph of a playing card embedded into a concrete slab. (See above.) Why? No explanation was given, which is the fastest way for the rabid dogs of Internet gossip to scream, "Joker!" at the top of their collective lungs.
As Batman reveals go, it was nowhere near as sweet and subtle as this:
But Larry Fong knows you can’t just share a playing card without threatening to tumble the entire, delicate house of cards Zack Snyder currently is constructing in Michigan on the set of Batman vs. Superman. So let’s talk about this. Could the Joker be in Snyder’s Man of Steel 2 (or whatever it ends up being called)? Sure. Warner Bros. and DC Comics appear to be using this movie as the evolution of their on-screen universe, so populating it with iconic figures is necessary. But we already know that Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) are on board, as is Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) as the chief villain. Is there room for the Clown Prince? Not really, but he’d make a fantastic end-credits sequence building into Zack Snyder’s Justice League movie, wouldn’t he?
Now, Larry Fong was somewhat quick to diffuse the situation… but even his word choice was vague. Movies.com editor Erik Davis joked about Fong’s tweet, and the cinematographer responded. Look at this back and forth, and make of it what you will:
A "card trick." That’s all? Why are they pulling off card tricks on the set of Batman vs. Superman? Shenanigans! OK, fine. I’m sure it’s nothing. But maybe it’s something? I’m not sure I’d want to be the actor who immediately followed up Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Batman’s legendary nemesis. But we said the same thing after Jack Nicholson, and look what that got us.
