What’s it about? Take a wild guess. The Caped Crusader has a score to settle with the Man of Steel, after the latter’s ruckus in Metropolis with General Zod resulted in citywide destruction and untold thousands of deaths.
Who’s directing? The so-called “visionary director” Zack Snyder, returning from Man of Steel, who’s also brought us the excellent Dawn of the Dead remake, the entertaining nonsense of 300, well-meaning comic-book stencil Watchmen, and the atrocious Sucker Punch.
Who’s in it? Henry Cavill returns as Superman/Clarke Kent, joined by Ben Affleck as the latest Batman/Bruce Wayne. Much of the supporting cast from Man of Steel will be making appearances (Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne), but more exciting is the addition of new characters like Jeremy Irons as butler Alfred, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg as billionaire supervillain Lex Luthor.
Best dialogue? Luthor’s slightly unhinged “Black and blue. God versus man. Day versus night. The red capes are coming… the red capes are coming…”
Best moment? Unsurprisingly, the trailer is crammed with fanboy-pleasing shots and sequences, but I’m partial to the 9/11-evoking shot of Bruce Wayne sprinting down a city as he watches a skyscraper get scythed in half by laser-eye shots (presumably from Superman and/or General Zod). It instantly makes us realise just why he hates Superman, and wants to defeat him.
Worst-case scenario? Man of Steel redux, with more casualties for the Batman franchise and a potentially disastrous knock-on effect for DC’s ambitious shared universe ambitions. BvS:DoJ will be followed by David Ayer’s Suicide Squad the same year, Wonder Woman and Justice League Part 1 in 2017, The Flash and Aquaman in 2018, Shazam and Justice League Part 2 in 2019, Cyborg and Green Lantern Corps in 2020, and a solo Batman film and Superman sequel at some point.
Best-case scenario? After the faltering Man of Steel (all design, no heart), this could be a resounding crowdpleaser on the level of The Avengers—uniting two of the comic-book genre’s most famous faces on-screen for the first time. It’s hard to imagine this failing with audiences, even if the critics are very unkind. Even Man of Steel made $668m worldwide.
When does it premiere? 25 March 2016. And then the DC gravy train really gets underway! Are you aboard for the ride?