Will the Superman / Batman movie work?

Comic Con’s famed Hall H was the scene of the biggest movie announcement since the return of ‘Star Wars’ this past weekend as Zack Snyder took to the stage to tell the world that Batman and Superman would finally do battle on the big screen.

It will be the sequel to this year’s ‘Man of Steel’ and will mark the first step towards Warner Bros and DC Comics’ ultimate goal - a Justice League movie. How exactly will it work though? And is it actually a good idea?

[Superman / Batman movie confirmed]

Only a few months ago rumours suggested that a Justice League movie was in the works for 2015. In all likelihood it would have been an unmitigated disaster, so a ‘Man of Steel’ sequel featuring Batman is certainly a better, more measured alternative. It does however still have a few issues...

How will they handle Batman?
Expect a new Caped Crusader and a new actor, but don’t expect another origin story. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy will be fresh in the audience’s minds, so let the experience of those Batman films inform this new Batman even if it’s not strictly the same character.

Christian Bale won’t return, and it almost certainly won’t be the one it’s implied Joseph Gordon-Levitt becomes at the end of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, but this new Batman should be one who has been active a while and who is interested in finding out about Earth’s new alien hero.

In the comics that have depicted the Batman/Superman relationship, the former has always viewed the latter as a goody two shoes Boy Scout who sees the world in black and white. Batman, who works to a more morally ambiguous code of ethics, doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with this world view. It would make sense then if this Batman is older and more world-weary than Henry Cavill’s Superman.

What might happen in Man of Steel 2?
Actor Harry Lennix, who played General Swanwick in ‘Man of Steel’, helped Snyder make the announcement by reading out a famous quote from Frank Miller’s comic ‘The Dark Knight Returns’.

Batman, addressing Superman, says: “I want you to remember Clark, in all the years to come, in all your most private moments, I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one who beat you.”

In that comic an ageing Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement and goes to war against a gang that have taken over Gotham. Things get out of control and Superman is sent in to take care of it and Batman. With a little kryptonite and a lot of planning the Dark Knight gets the upper hand and utters the words above.

[Rumour: The Flash coming in 2016?]

Before Lennix read the quote Snyder said they would not be adapting the comic it came from, but that it would help tell the story they want to tell in the new film, which lends some credibility to the idea that this Batman will be older than Kal-El and more experienced as a superhero.

As for what happens in the new film, the pair will certainly fight but we doubt that will be the crux of the film. After all, the end goal here is the ‘Justice League’, so while they will initially come to blows the film will likely present the pair with a common enemy that forces them to team up.

Who could play the new Batman?
This part is purely speculative but there are a lot of good names out there. Roughly a year ago we explored how the Batman franchise should be re-launched on the big screen and suggested a few actors. ‘Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and ‘Person of Interest’s Jim Caviezel were our two top picks with ‘The Lone Ranger’s Armie Hammer up there as well, though Hammer doesn’t fit with the older character we’re expecting here.

How could it all go wrong?
Nearly all fans of superhero movies will be interested in a film starring both Superman and Batman but already there’s reason to be very sceptical, and that reason was mentioned in the first paragraph of this blog – Zack Snyder.

‘Man of Steel’ was, at the very least, a flawed film. Some enjoyed, some didn’t, and those who didn’t laid the blame squarely at the feet of its director Snyder who will be returning to continue the series. Snyder’s direction has always been a case of style over substance and ‘MoS’ was no different.

Many criticised the lack of humour and the relentless climatic battle for being a barrage of CGI with little reason to care for anyone other than the thousands who no doubt died as Supes and Zod punched each other through yet another skyscraper.

A battle between Batman and Superman needs to be thought-out, considered and can’t possibly be handled in the same way as Zod and Kal-El’s final scrap. Does Snyder have the requisite finesse? Well there’s certainly no evidence of it in his films if he does.

Writing off a film completely before we even know much about it is never a good move however. So let’s see what happens, who they cast as Batman and how it shapes up. Fingers crossed, it might end up being the film we’re all hoping for. 

Do you think the Superman/Batman movie will work? Are you excited to see it happen? Let us know in the comments below.