Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He has a degree in media production from the University of Sunderland and is the founder and editor of the UK movie site FlickeringMyth.com.
Here he discusses the new Batman and what fans can expect from the Man of Steel sequel…
It’s only been a couple of years since Christopher Nolan brought the curtain down on his Dark Knight Trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, but Batman is back in front of the cameras once again… and this time he’s not alone.
After giving us a first look at Ben Affleck in his Dark Knight Returns-inspired Batsuit a couple of weeks ago, Warner Bros. has officially announced the start of filming on Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, which now has the official title of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The choice of title is very telling; not only is this movie a lead in to the long-awaited Justice League movie, but the fact that Batman’s name comes before Superman in the title of a Man of Steel sequel makes it plain that Warner Bros. sees The Dark Knight as the centre of fledgling ‘DC Cinematic Universe’, and it’s not hard to see why.
In terms of general public perception, the Man of Steel may be one of the most recognisable superheroes around, but as last year’s reboot proved, Superman alone is no guarantee of success – at least, not on the scale of Warner Bros.’ main comic book movie rivals, Marvel Studios.
While Marvel Studios has turned second-tier characters such as Iron Man and Captain America into bonafide A-list superheroes, the popularity of Wonder Woman, DC’s third-biggest name, is arguably at an all-time low, and it’s hard to imagine many non-comic book fans will have even heard of Cyborg.
But throw in Batman – the only superhero character to have two solo movies grossing over a billion at the global box office – and now the studio has a sure-fire box office smash on its hands. Not only will the inclusion of the Dark Knight elevate Warner’s other DC characters, but it also gives them an ensemble to rival The Avengers. And that’s before we even get to Justice League…
– Gary Collinson
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