Warner Bros. had planned to release the trailer for
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice next week. But the leak of a bootleg version last night changed things, and precipitated director
posting the footage on his Twitter feed. This movie, which builds off of 2013's
Man of Steel, is a critical linchpin in Warner Bros. attempt to establish a cohesive
D.C. Comics cinematic continuity with their characters and catch up with Disney and Marvel's success.
Speculation about Batman v Superman has been running rampant since it was first announced at 2013's Comic-Con. Snyder has heavily implied the story borrows from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and the trailer confirms it. The movie will introduce a new iteration of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and many of the Justice League members will make appearances. (e.g., Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, etc.) However, Warner Bros. could not have picked a dumber title for this film if they had tried, and there's a worry the studio is in such a hurry to catch-up with Marvel they're throwing every character into this movie and it's going to be a muddled mess.
This teaser trailer offers a glimpse of the world's reaction to Superman after the events of Man of Steel, as well as a first look at Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Check out the trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice after the jump.
One of the big criticisms of Snyder's interpretation of Superman was that it betrayed the essence of the character. Yes, Superman is strong, fast and nigh indestructible, but the character is also a representation of goodness. He's the "big blue boy scout." And the argument becomes that trying to tack on the Christopher Nolan model of angst, darkness and grit for the sake of realism, as Metropolis is destroyed all around Superman, doesn't work.
The trailer below definitely has some interesting images, and features Charlie Rose and Neil deGrasse Tyson debating whether Superman's presence on Earth is detrimental to humanity. But the money quote comes from Batman: “Tell me … do you bleed?”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice also stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and Holly Hunter (also heard in this trailer) in a role newly created for the film, with Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane returning from Man of Steel.
The film is written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to open in the US on March 25, 2016.