Three things Batman v Superman needs to succeed

Good article. I loved Man of Steel, despite its many faults. I saw what it was trying to do, and even though it fell short of that, it was still a good film. I'm even more excited for Batman v Superman, which I think will be much, much better.

To answer your question, I think BvS needs to have 8 main things in order to succeed. Some of these are lessons that should be learned from Man of Steel (and so partly a critique of that film), while the rest are necessary components to properly set up a shared universe.

1) Take the time to develop the main characters

One of Man of Steel's biggest issues was that it did not develop its Clark properly. Man of Steel wrongly decided to short-hand Clark's upbringing by trying to take a page out of Batman Begins. But considering the drastic shift of approach and context, Man of Steel needed to spend most of its time illustrating how this Clark grows up in this world, and how he gets to the same place by a less idyllic road. Instead, it reduced his upbringing to a few scattered flashbacks that robbed each scene of a proper context and perspective. A more linear format would have placed Jonathan's controversial words and actions within a context that may have made more sense to the audience.

Learning from this, BvS needs to develop Bruce Wayne/Batman, Clark/Superman AND Lex Luthor in as straightforward a fashion as possible. This will be easier to do than in Man of Steel: instead of backstory, these characters need to be shown on screen in their various elements, with stated facts from their backstories used only to support displayed behaviors and actions in the present. One issue I had with MOS was how much of Lois' importance was stated as opposed to demonstrated (e.g., her Pulitzer Prize credentials). BvS should not fall into this trap, which leads to the second point:

2) Show [don't tell] the plot

The Zod-Superman fight was roundly criticized because of the collateral damage caused, and the fact that Superman never demonstrably attempts to protect civilians while fighting Zod. As someone who paid attention, it was apparent that a) Zod was the primary threat, and b) Zod gave Superman no time to divert his attention away, but clearly a good chunk of the audience could not tell. But this is the problem: although Zod tells Superman that he is going to kill humans, the only person he attacks is Superman. These scenes never show Zod actively trying to attack civilians until he is pinned. If the film had shown Zod initially targeting civilians, it would have justified why the fight stays in the city, and why Superman must kill Zod.

BvS should be very careful to match words with actions. The audience pays attention to what the characters do, not simply what they say. Much of Man of Steel was criticized because Jor-El, Jonathan, Lara and Perry constantly talked about the impact Clark's exposure would have, but it was never actually shown. We're getting it in Batman v Superman, and so this film needs to make sure that the dialogue actually pays off.

3) Don't shoehorn in characters

Batman v Superman admittedly has many new characters that it needs to develop and utilize. To succeed in this regard, it needs to use characters only where they are needed. One of Man of Steel's other problems -- in my opinion -- is that it shoehorned in the entire Daily Planet (including Lois), when they weren't really needed for this film. That decision took valuable screen time away from Clark's upbringing, particularly his relationship with Jonathan. Characters like Alfred, Lois and Martha should only show up when they are actually relevant.

4) Fully explore deeper themes

I actually liked the controversial Jonathan scenes. I thought they captured what was a heretofore unexplored ethical question: if revealing an alien presence risked doing lasting harm to the world, should you do it? It was especially interesting in the context of how and when Clark chose to use his powers. Should Jonathan have let Clark try to save the dog, even though he didn't know whether Clark could survive a tornado, and given the fact that to all bystanders, Clark was still a minor?

One of the best things about Daredevil and Jessica Jones is their exploration of deep ethical questions related to big and small choices. Given Man of Steel's preoccupation with Clark's supposed freedom of choice, the film should have spent much more time exploring the ramifications of Clark's choice. Perhaps the film could have explored how saving the school bus affected Clark's relationship with his middle school peers in a negative way, or how it affected their parents' relationships with the Kents. Yes, some idiotic fans think such things are 'pretentious', but quality works always have depth.

Batman v Superman is presumably about the way in which power is wielded, and its potential for corruption. Therefore, the film needs to thoroughly explore the ways in which Superman, Batman and Lex wield power, and the wider consequences of their good and bad actions.

5) Use smarter fights

The final criticism of Man of Steel was in the seeming meaninglessness of its fights. While they were cool and bombastic, the fights were standard superhero fare. Compare the Jor-el and Zod fight with the later two fights: the former was personal, measured, and meaningful: two former friends fighting over the future of Krypton. Neither Superman fight had the same meaning. The Smallville fight had literally no purpose, while the Zod-Superman fight wasn't related to Zod's expressed intent.

The Superman-Batman fight looks to have much more meaning to it, but the Doomsday fight needs to be more than just a brawl. With quality films such as The Winter Soldier, CBM fights can and should be executed smartly.

Now on to general asks:

6) More Clark and Bruce!

This film is called Batman v Superman, but the film really needs to develop Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, particularly in their chosen occupations. The best part of the latest trailer was the Clark-Bruce interaction. Bruce: a wealthy businessman socializing at a function. Clark: a new reporter trying to draw out a story. The film needs to show more of that. One of the worst things about Nolan's trilogy was that it did not portray Bruce Wayne's business savvy. BvS needs to show Bruce actually running a company, while showing Lois and Clark doing some actual journalism.

7) Get Lex Luthor right!

The latest trailer did not do Lex any favors, although I do think the way the trailer was cut created a false impression of the character. This Lex can certainly be a "mad scientist", but he also needs to be the savvy politician/CEO. Since he isn't the alpha male/physical specimen that many have wanted, this Lex will need to make up for that with his behind-the-scenes manipulation.

8) Make us care about the characters

Not every character needs to be relatable, not every character needs to be likable. But every character needs to be important, to the story AND to the audience. Two things will make this work: characterization and credibility. Meaningful characters are developed sufficiently, so that they are three-dimensional (whether simple or complex), they have dynamic personalities, and they are believable. Whether you can relate to them, you understand why they do what they do. Such characters are also believable and taken seriously: their words and actions line up, they have a clear purpose in the story, and they have an impact on the story.

I generally agree with most of the things in the article and in the more detailed comments. Thumbed and I'll leave out the details.

But I will say this about what @LexHairFight said about "leaving the audience wanting more". It's true to a certain extent, but what actually creates that feeling? Just about any movie over 3 hours is difficult to watch in single sitting, but there are 90 minute movies that seem to drag on just as much. And you never want to leave concepts unexplored in a movie if they would have made the movie better, leaving the audience with the question: "why set up something if you're never going to explore it?". If they didn't really like the movie to begin with, dangling some other carrot in front of them isn't going to make them want more, it's going to make them resent you for denying them a carrot. (Sort of like the Sinister Six teasing in Amazing Spider-Man 2.)

0megaDaGr0dd-Well one things for sure From the trailers we have seen so far, Chris Terrio has handled the dialogue better than what Goyer did in Man Of Steel. Also since the trailer shows the premise of the movie, they have a simple premise that can have deeper context if it's in the right hands of a screenwriter

this movie has to succeed because if it doesn't it will end the DC universe. If Bruce is going to be older then I want a gritty ahead of everyone batman. Superman is superman and I like the path he is on. This movie is going to come down to toys and how well they sell.