I happened to catch a chunk of Man of Steel the other day while I was feeding my newborn. Say what you will about the film's plot and character choices, and I have certainly said quite a bit over the years, but it is a visually stupendous motion picture. Zack Snyder's would-be Superman reboot has a gorgeous naturalistic look throughout, giving the picture a genuinely "real world" feeling that goes well beyond the whole "taking everything very serious approach." I bring this up because Entertainment Weekly released a few new photos from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice this morning. And they are, as arguably expected, gorgeous and visually scrumptious images, offering more evidence against the lie perpetrated earlier by that "What if Man of Steel were shot in color?" viral video. And they will be step one in Warner Bros./
The two big reveals in the images are that Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor has hair or a wig for at least part of the movie and that Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) meet up at some point in the film. This is important, to the extent any of this matters this early in the game, because it offers hope that Wonder Woman wasn't just brought in to be part of a love triangle between Amy Adams's Lois Lane and Henry Cavill's Superman. The notion of Wayne and Prince hooking up makes more sense anyway, as one of the highlights of the Justice League animated series is how they flirted on-and-off throughout the run of the show without making either character less powerful or empowered. Of course, the film could forgo Wonder Woman having any love interest, but that's a conversation for another day.
I'm sure Warner is saving the real goods (Wonder Woman in action) for the SDCC next week, but obviously Entertainment Weekly got the sneak peek, probably because Time Warner owns both entities. Anyway, as I mentioned briefly last week, the key to the overall Dawn of Justice marketing campaign will be convincing fans and regular moviegoers that the film will be not just a really big superhero drama but a genuinely fun, lively, and colorful superhero epic. It won't be easy, what with the rumors of the whole "No jokes in DC movies" policy and conventional wisdom stating that Chris Nolan's Batman films were all about grim suffering and darkly-tinted misery. But bright and colorful pictures like these are a big step in the right direction, as will a second trailer (be it for Comic-Con or the general public) that can be humorous without appearing to be trying to copy Marvel-style humor.
Okay, that's enough for now. This was merely an interlude while I wait for more box office info to drop. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25th, 2016. As always, we'll see. Oh, and this has been updated with an appropriate link and the smashing new cover that will presumably arrive in my mailbox tomorrow.
