Man of Steel was released in 2013, just one year after Christopher Nolan wrapped up his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises. Speculation at the time pointed to Zack Snyder's movie taking place in the "NolanVerse," and the trailers definitely gave it the same feel as the British filmmaker's work.
Now, Snyder has confirmed that when he started developing a Superman reboot in 2010, the idea of the two franchises being connected was considered. "It was not 100 percent off the table. We did talk about it a little bit," he admitted in an interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz (via THR).
Of course, had it happened, Henry Cavill's Superman would have been hanging around with John "Robin" Blake, the cop who took over the Batman mantle in Bruce Wayne's absence. "It would have been Joseph. Which could have been cool," Snyder said, adding that he understands why Nolan kept his series separate. "I like that his thing doesn’t get muddied by these other touches."
Moving on to discuss the movie that would eventually become Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder revealed that he considered another actor for the role of his Caped Crusader before Ben Affleck: Red Sparrow star Matthias Schoenaerts. "I was talking to him a lot about it. He never got in the suit, but I did do a bunch of mock-ups of him, because Ben was on the fence. And I don’t blame him. Everyone should be on the fence when you’re asked, ‘Do you want to play Batman?'"
Ultimately, it was decided that the actor was too young to play an older Batman, but it's fun to think about what Schoenaerts' version might have looked like (his name never came up at the time, no great surprise when Warner Bros. wanted a big star to take on the role).
What do you think about these latest revelations from Snyder?