By anyone’s standards, screenwriter Chris Terrio has already had a big year. Having penned the adaptation of the book The Master of Disguise as the film Argo, he spent the first few months of the year collecting a raft of awards nominations – capping the annual gong season with an Oscar win. Not bad for his first full screenplay.
For some, winning an Oscar early in the year might mean the ensuing months would be something of an anti-climax. Not so for Terrio, who is ending 2013 with the task of revising the script for the feverishly anticipated, Batman vs. Superman – the film that will see his Argo director and star, Ben Affleck, don the Dark Knight’s cape.
David Goyer – the writer behind Man Of Steel, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films – provided Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder with a draft of the movie, but is now occupied with a rapidly expanding workload, courtesy of his first-look deal with Warner Bros.
While Academy Award winner Terrio builds on his foundation for this new DC cinematic opus, Goyer is set to produce a selection of lower-budget productions of lesser-known DC characters for the big screen. In addition to The Sandman, Suicide Squad – a team of supervillains blackmailed into working for the Government – is a distinct possibility. This does not mean Goyer is setting down his pen, however, with writing duties on a Justice League movie also on his slate.
With this latest development, it certainly seems that the provisionally titled Batman vs. Superman is becoming an exercise in testing just how much excitement you can cram into a single project. Zack Snyder will again direct, with Christopher Nolan – among others – returning to produce. Confirmed casting, so far, includes Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, with rumours swirling of talks with Jason Momoa and, possibly, the powerhouse Joaquin Phoenix for pivotal roles.
Aside from the incredible pedigree of talent involved, the aspect of this production that has really cranked the anticipation off the scale is the characters it promises. Batman vs. Superman will bring together the three biggest-selling, most iconic DC Comic characters of all time, for the first time, in live-action on the cinema screen: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Clear your schedules for July 17th, 2015 – it’s going to be epic.