We all know what TJ’s opinion of last year’s Man of Steel is. I, on the other hand, enjoyed it well enough, though it certainly had its problems. That being said, I’m actually looking forward to the sequel film, unofficially titled/referred to as Batman vs. Superman.
Of course, the talk of the town are the casting choices made so far, with both the selections of Ben Affleck as Batman (affectionately referred to as “Batfleck”) and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor receiving much criticism from fans around the world. Rest assured (?), friends, director Zack Snyder is here to quell your fears in an interview with the LA Times:
“We know the material. Unfortunately, the fans don’t know the material. So, we’re casting according to what’s happening in the script. And we’re hoping that leads to enough originality, enough perspective on what we’re doing that you get something fresh and exciting. I understand the canon. I’m not crazy. I know what these characters need from a mythological standpoint. I think Jesse is going to be an amazing Lex. Let’s not forget he was nominated for an Academy Award. It’s not like I just grabbed my friend to play the guy! This guy’s the real deal.”
I have no doubt in Eisenberg’s ability, but I’m struggling to see him as an effective Lex Luthor. I loved Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (the Academy Award-nominated role mentioned by Snyder), and, though I liked him in last year’s Now You See Me, I only saw him as Zuckerberg doing magic tricks. Hopefully he’s able to perform in the role without reminding us too much of Zuckerberg yet again. As for Batfleck, I’m personally not concerned. He’s a great actor, and I think he’ll do a fine job.
Snyder also talks about “exploding” the Batman and Superman universe:
“[The movie] literally takes the Man of Steel and Batman universes and explodes them. You’re not as tied to the mythology. In Man of Steel, we had to create an origin story, a mythology, and there’s a lot of energy into that, which we love doing. Don’t get me wrong. But when you think about how fun it is too — now that you’ve got these characters — to now let ‘em loose. That’s fun!”
Now that the origin story is out of the way, I think that being able to better explore the Superman character and his growth into the icon we know him as today will definitely be worth watching. For now, I suppose the only thing to do is sit back and wait for this film’s release on May 6, 2016.