In a recent interview with a French magazine, Studio Ciné Live, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill both opened up about their roles as the two biggest and well-known superheroes of all time. When speaking about the batsuit, which to many fans is the greatest iteration of any suit to date, Affleck talked about wearing it for the first time and had this to say: "When you’re reading the script, you’re wondering how you’re going to play Batman. Then you put on the suit, you look in the mirror and you tell yourself: 'There, that’s it.' The suit does all the work for you. In fact, you’re not playing Batman, but Bruce Wayne. That’s when the character becomes complicated and interesting. Batman himself is already a strong emblematic figure. It would be a mistake to overplay him." Affleck also goes into detail about wearing his other suit, the armored suit and how faithful the design is to Frank Miller's original version in The Dark Knight Returns comic book storyline.
"I really like their design. They’re faithful to Frank Miller’s vision in The Dark Knight Returns comic. In fact the movie borrows a lot from that comic, as noted by our use of the massive and very symbolic battle armor. They’re pretty heavy and cumbersome in the end. The challenge was to create fight scenes where I could move with ease, which is tough. The suits have to look cool and be functional at the same time. One thing that couldn’t be done before but is finally possible now is to wear the suit without the arms. They put motion sensors on my arms to recreate the rest of the suit in post production. And that allowed me to move my arms freely without looking like a robot during fight scenes. I think it was the first time an actor could have all that flexibility and move his head in a Batsuit!"
As we all know, a production as big as Batman v Superman could take a toll on any seasoned actor. Well, Ben Affleck took it like a champ and had this to say about filming one of the biggest films of the century, "That filming took so long – 140 days – and that everything was so compartmentalized, fragmented. It was tough to recall where a particular scene fit in the overall story, or to understand those moments that were stuck between SFX heavy shots which would be completed in post. I’m not used to that type of filmmaking, I can’t switch to cruise control, I have to restart the engine every time. For instance today I’ll only be filming shots of about ten seconds or so, which will then be edited to build an entire scene. I’m more used to shooting a whole scene in order to try different things. This time around it’s very technical, and you don’t really have much freedom amid all those visual effects."
Lex Luthor has long been revealed to be the main antagonist of the superhero blockbuster with Jesse Eisenberg taking on the role for the first time. Trailers and the film's synopsis have revealed the Luthor wants to pit the titans against each other for unknown reasons. Affleck went on to reveal why Luthor was the right character and villain to bring these two iconic superheroes together. "Between the character that was written by Chris Terrio and Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal, it’s the meeting of two great minds, on the same wavelength. Luthor is, for me, the most interesting character in the film. He’s radically different from what we’ve seen so far. He’s grounded in reality, and he’s extraordinary. This type of film is only as good as its villain. That’s why The Dark Knight was so brilliant, because of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Jesse improves the film with each scene he’s in. He’s not your usual one-dimensional villain, there’s a whole psychology behind him." Batman v Superman not only delves into comic book world issues and Ben Affleck believes that the film isn't focused on giving out life lessons but more on revealing what consequences look like. "I don’t think this film has any sort of lesson, but it’s more than just entertainment, it’s also trying to show that there are real consequences to violence. When a building collapses, people die, and those are lives lost forever. This film also shows that fear is the enemy of us all. Fear brings out the worst in us. When we fear powerful people because we think they might destroy us, we tend to use that to justify any decision we might be tempted to make. There are some parallels with preemptive strikes, and things like that. It allows us to analyze how we think about what we do, when facing a threat. That’s very relevant to what’s going on in the world right now. The film tackles pertinent themes." In the last part of Ben Affleck's interview, he was asked the age-old question about who would win between Batman and Superman. "Well… When you see the film, you’ll realize it’s more complicated than that! There’s no real winner. I like the idea that Truth is the winner."
Man of Steel was one of the most divisive films of 2013 due to the destruction that fell upon Metropolis and Superman's actions in the final act of the film. Batman v Superman has been officially stated to take place 18 months after the events of the last film. Henry Cavill was asked how much has Superman and the world changed since then. "Superman himself isn’t that different. He does however have to deal with a new set of problems because he’s now been revealed to the world. This film is more about how the world in general – and Batman in particular – sees this alien, and less about the evolution of Superman. We’re seeing Superman and Batman together for the first time in a movie, with flesh-and-blood actors. They’re two sides of the same coin. They have the same goal, but use very different methods to achieve it. Understandably, that leads them to clash with one another, and their conflict is a historic moment." In Man of Steel we saw the start of Superman and how he's ready to save the world and only a glimpse of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. Here is what Cavill had to say about portraying Clark Kent, "Comparisons with Christopher Reeve’s clumsy Clark Kent are inevitable. My Clark Kent is trying to be as small and invisible as possible. If you’re awkward and spilling things constantly, people are going to notice you, and that’s not the best way to go unseen. You have to admit, it’s not a remarkable disguise, just a pair of glasses. He’d like to think that no one will believe he could be Superman. How could such a delicate flower be a living god? Preposterous. Superman’s suit will evolve from one film to the next, even if they’re just minor updates." It seems like for every sequel to a comic book movie, the hero's costume has to go under some maintenance, an upgrade, a change here or there. The Henry Cavill Superman suit did have it's criticisms for being too dark, not only did costume designer Michael Wilkinson upgraded the suit aesthetically but also personally for Cavill. "It’s easier to take it off when I have to relieve myself! Suddenly my life is much less complicated." What do you think of Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck's answers? Are you excited to see them go up against each other on the big screen as Batman and Superman?
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25th, 2016.
Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before. Starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, with Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, and Holly Hunter, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio from David S. Goyer's screenplay.