The last superhero ensemble seen on screen was The Avengers; think endless banter, but eventual alien-stomping teamwork. While Warner Bros.’ upcoming feature, the tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman can’t be said to boast an “ensemble” of superheroes, it will still showcase two super-powered juggernauts who will be at one another’s throats. And to add to their differing moral codes and superhero identity ethos, there’s a difference in age between the pair.
At the introduction of the film (which is set to be released in 2015), Superman is still new to the game; he lacks the heavy emotional baggage his superhero predecessor carries, and remains hopeful that he might stir up change. In comparison, Batman is essentially retired from vigilante business: he’s old, embittered and cynical. It’s this necessary maturity, The Dark Knight Trilogy producer Charles Roven says, that justifies Ben Affleck’s casting.
“We wanted a guy who had a certain age and a certain gravitas to what he had done in terms of his recent work,” Roven told Variety in regards to Affleck’s casting. “If you take a look at ‘The Town’ and ‘Argo,’ he plays a couple of serious guys in those movies. He’s a big man. He’s also a mature man. As you see him and Henry together, one definitely has much more experience just by looking at him. That’s what we wanted, particularly juxtaposed against our Superman.”
With business booming for superhero films, it appears that Warner Bros.’ began discussing sequels with Roven after Man of Steel’s opening week. Check out what he had to say on the matter below.
“We had created a world and we had left Easter eggs in the movie that let people know that in the universe that Zack was creating, there was the possibility of other DC characters besides Clark Kent,” he said. “We had a sketch of an idea, the beats of a story that [screenwriter] David Goyer worked on with Zack. We have a first draft, and we’re continuing to work with it. Those scripts are never fully finished until the movie is in the theaters. We love the characters — we think that Ben (Affleck) is going to be a really great and interesting Batman.”
Unfortunately, ’til Batman vs. Superman is released, there’s no end in sight for either the disbelieving criticism on Ben Affleck’s casting, or the tidal wave of Batfleck memes either.