With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice releasing this month it's time for lots of magazine features. The latest from Entertainment Weekly gives a bit more away about the film…but not too much.
Between their cover story and another post full of new images from the film, EW describes a few very interesting things. Some fans like to go in fresh, which is totally admirable but almost impossible if you live on the internet. That said, I'll start with the stuff that isn't spoilery at all and work my way down to spoilers.
“[Superman”s] weakness is that he doesn”t want to hurt anyone. He doesn”t want to scare anyone, and in that you can take advantage of him. This is someone who is a complete amateur, and he”s facing up against someone who is very well-versed in the arts of war,” Henry Cavill told them of his silly disagreements with Batman.
And although Superman might be nearly invincible physically, he's very much like a human when it comes to his mental state. “When you”re doing your best, your utmost, and then people point their finger at you and call you the bad guy… That would be enormously frustrating,” Cavill told EW. “I know the human reaction would be, 'Hold on a second, F-you man,' and his reaction is the first half of that: not quite the 'F-you'; It”s the hurt.”
Yes, please, let's hope Superman isn't saying “f–k you” to anyone. While Zack Snyder's film is definitely aimed more at adult fans, plenty of children look up to superheroes. Speaking of which, Wonder Woman actor Gal Gadot told EW how proud she is to be bringing the character to life, especially because she has a young daughter:
“Most of the movies, the men are in charge, the men are the most powerful ones. You”ve had Superman and Batman and everyone, but Wonder Woman was never there,” says the actress, whose daughter is 4. That's probably too young to see the film now. But someday… “I”m so happy when she grows up she”s going to see a female figure she can be inspired by,” Gadot says.
EW says part of Diana Prince's role in the film is competing with Bruce Wayne to steal some of Lex Luthor's secrets (we reported on Diana's in-film career just yesterday) and that even before she shows up as “Wonder Woman,” she's “pretty badass.”
They also confirmed this is not an origin story for Batman:
Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne has been fighting for decades, and he has paid a stiff price. This image of a Joker-graffitied Robin uniform suggests others have paid even higher costs. “You can extrapolate that if Batman kept his suit like that, it's a reminder,” says Geoff Johns, chief creative officer for DC Entertainment and an executive producer of BvS. “He”s displayed the suit of a fallen ally, fallen friend in the center of the Batcave. It”s right there for a reason, and part of it is to fuel him to continue to do what he does.”
And now we're getting a little closer to spoilers…
Some fans have noticed toy sets featuring an armored Lex Luthor which is something we've seen many times in the comics and animated series. But EW confirmed “there's no armored warsuit in this movie” for Lex. However, they did report on his state of mind:
This version of the character is also revealed to have been deeply tormented and emotionally scarred by his father. “This is the Lex who was abused and no God ever rescued him,” Snyder says. “And so, to get revenge on that God, you know – God kneels, right? Bends to my will.”
EW writer Anthony Breznican saw the film last month and discussed a few items on his Twitter account with fans. He goes on to debunk a few rumors and give some very general feelings like “Wonder Woman is fearsome.”
I'm not the critic, so I won't review BvS. I'll say I prefer a troubled Superman and thought this delivered. It surprised me, too. :)
– Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) March 3, 2016
But perhaps most interestingly, he seems to debunk character rumors for actors Jena Malone and Scoot McNairy (who were thought to be playing Barbara Gordon and Jimmy Olsen respectively). After a Twitter user directed him to a reddit thread from someone who claimed to have seen the film Breznican replied, “That's not who Jena and Scoot play.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25th.