Zack Snyder's DC Universe has been criticised by some for being overly dark and dreary, but it's not all bad. Sometimes even Batman is in a good mood. Although, if we're being honest, seeing Batman smile might actually be scarier than anything else we've seen from him. Check out the behind-the-scenes image from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice below.
OK, so it turns out there's a reason that Batman never smiles. It just looks wrong. The image comes to us courtesy of Clay Enos, a professional photographer who has worked with Zack Snyder on nearly all of his films since Watchmen. Flanking Ben Affleck in full Bat-Armor are director Zack Snyder and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice writer Chris Terrio. While the two guys on either side of Ben Affleck look fine, something about Ben just looks wrong. It's not even the smile, it's the eyes. Something about the way the eyes look, when combined with that smile, makes Batman look too happy. He's anime Batman. This may make anybody who thought _Dawn of Justice _ was too dark rethink their position.
Of course, we also can't help but feel bad, because looking at Ben Affleck so happy on the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice puts everything that happened later into sharp relief. There was no bigger cheerleader for Dawn of Justice than Ben Affleck. He put his reputation on the line to play Batman. It didn't work out. The critical response to the film was harsh, and while Affleck himself was cited as one of the film's few bright spots, his facial expression was something very different after the movie was released and the critics began to let their opinions be heard.
All is not yet lost, of course. Ben Affleck is back playing Batman as he's currently filming Justice League. We can only hope he's smiling once again. If nothing else, he'll have an opportunity to make a superhero movie his way when he directs his solo Batman film in a few years. Hopefully, we won't have to wait quite that long. The trailer released during San Diego Comic-Con certainly has some positive things in it to be hopeful for. If nothing else, Bruce Wayne appears to be having a good time finding some superhero friends, so we can hope the same can be said for the actor playing him.
Do you find a smiling Batman to be even scarier than the angry one? Should this be the character's new way to frighten criminals? Let us know what you think in the comments.
