The upcoming Man of Steel sequel may be one of the messiest blockbusters ever, but at least there is an official photo to go with it.
Director Zach Snyder tweeted the first look at Ben Affleck wearing the Batsuit and the newly designed Batmobile. There are some significant changes to both compared the Nolan films. Batman’s cowl has shorter ears and the suit appears much bulkier than we’ve seen it. In contrast, the Batmobile has a very sleek, streamlined look, reminiscent of the older Batman films starring Michael Keaton (Batman and Batman Returns) and Val Kilmer (Batman Forever). I prefer the Batmobile to the suit, to be honest. Those short cowl ears are throwing me off. I’m used to the longer ears, like in the Nolan films and Justice League. It makes him look more menacing.
There is a sense of relief seeing this photo, since it was starting to look like the still-untitled movie was about to descend into development hell. The casting choices, from Affleck as the Caped Crusader to Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, have been met with fan outcry louder than usual. The date was pushed back against Captain America 3, which has experienced a surge of interest after the huge success of The Winter Soldier. Hell, it isn’t even clear what the movie is even about: is a sequel to Man of Steel, a duo superhero film between Superman and Batman, or is it some bungled attempt at a prologue for the imminent Justice League movie? Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had shelve the film altogether, the way things were going.
Of course, all these problems still remain and Warner Brothers and DC Comics do have a lot be worried about, but it looks like this film is at least on track, for the most part.
Now if we could only work on that title… Batman vs Superman is a bit awkward.
UPDATED: Via The Verge, here are high quality images of Ben Affleck’s costume:
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/entry_photo_images/10152647/Batman1_verge_super_wide.jpeg
http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/entry_photo_images/10152653/Batman2_verge_super_wide.jpeg
