The bigger a movie, the more stories and unbelievable details surface from its production. And with
Batman battling Superman with Wonder Woman not far behind, a movie can't get much bigger.
With that in mind, we're here without latest case of rapid fire trivia, making sure that
comic book fans know all the best stories about DC's universe launching blockbuster
in our new dose of Know Your Movies: 20 Amazing Batman V Superman Facts.
Good Advice When Ben Affleck ran into Christian Bale not
long after he'd been announced as the next Batman, he asked the retiring Dark Knight
if he had any advice for capturing a character like Bruce Wayne. Bale's only response? To
make sure that this time around, the costume department put a zipper in the suit so he
wouldn't need a team to answer nature's call. They did.
New Blood When Zack Snyder went from Superman to Batman,
he begged composer Hans Zimmer to come with him. Having done impressive work with Man
of Steel, he agreed. But since he was also the mind behind Christopher Nolan's Batman
music, felt it would be impossible for him to start from scratch. As a compromise, he
brought in friend and collaborator Junkie XL to handle the Dark Knight, while he stuck
to the other characters. Size Matters
It's impossible to think of an actor who can truly embody all aspects of an anti-hero like
Batman, but the producers of the movie revealed that it wasn't just talent, but height they
were looking for. To get the right dynamic between the green Superman and veteran Batman,
they wanted an actor whom Henry Cavill would have to literally look up to. At around 6'3",
Ben Affleck stands more than a little taller than the Man of Steel.
Second Time's The Charm His movie roles may have divided audiences,
but over the past decade, Ben Affleck has shown himself to be a talented director - and
a gifted dramatic lead. That's the reason Warner Bros. first approached him to direct
the Superman reboot that became Man of Steel. Since he was inexperienced with CG blockbusters,
he turned down the job. When he was approached to STAR in a DC movie, it took Zack Snyder
to convince him to not just take the part, but learn some tricks of the trade firsthand.
Written in Rubber In Man of Steel, Superman's famous 'S' was
revealed to be a message in Krpytonian. For the follow-up, the team went even farther.
Lines were written, then translated in to Kryptonian writing, and embedded into Superman's
costume itself, from the arms to the chest, and who knows where else on the finished suit.
A Strange Reveal It was obvious from the casting that nobody
was looking to tell a Batman origin story, but a flashback to the iconic death of Thomas
and Martha Wayne was inevitable, with Snyder's Watchmen star Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing the part. But
how Morgan was actually revealed was more than a little strange. Not a leak, or hint,
but a painting. That's right, a prop painting of Thomas Wayne that was unmistakable as the
actor let the world in on the secret earlier than expected.
Making Good on Man of Steel The movie offers more than one reason why
Superman killing General Zod was a mistake, but the ending to Man of Steel was no accident.
When even Christopher Nolan thought Super should only defeat Zod, Snyder convinced him
that the hero's commitment to never kill had to be a lesson he learned. Nolan agreed, letting
the superhero he reimagined arrive to hold Superman accountable in his sequel.
Middle-earth Hopefuls Before Ben Affleck was cast, everyone had
their own Batman actor in mind. For fans who want to see three potential Batmen in one
film, just load up The Hobbit Trilogy, since Richard Armitage, Luke Evans and Orlando Bloom
have all been considered to play The Dark Knight.
Small Town Heroes By landing the role of the King of Atlantis,
actor Jason Momoa becomes one of the most famous people to ever hail from the small
town of Norwalk, Iowa, population of under 10,000. In a true case of freakish coincidence,
his only competition might be from the small town's OTHER famous son, Brandon Routh, the
former Superman himself. The Last Laugh
When fans first saw the defaced Robin costume in Batman's batcave, they didn't ask who was
behind the writing and laughter spray painted onto it. But just to confirm it was the Joker's
handiwork, the second trailer for Suicide Squad shows the exact same handwriting over
top of the company cards (shown at the very beginning of the trailer).
Keepsake Coins When production on the movie was close to
wrapping, Henry Cavill decided to give the crew members a gift to remember the experience.
In true Superman fashion, Cavill distributed coins bearing the title, shoot dates, and
logos of each of the films title heroes.
Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth The movie keeps up the new tradition of casting
a well known British film star as Batman's butler, with Jeremy Irons playing the role
after Michael Caine. But it was another actor with a very different experience using clever
gadgets and engaging in stealth action - Timothy Dalton, the former James Bond.
Holly HunteD Fans won't find a DC Comics inspiration behind
the character of Senator Finch, even if anti-Superman lawmakers are nothing new. But director Zack
Snyder admitted at Comic-Con that he created the character specifically for actress Holly
Hunter, for no other reason than wanting to work with the veteran talent, and seeing his
chance. Passing on The Title
When Zack Snyder decided that a new Batman was needed to face off against Superman in
Man of Steel's universe, apparently even the studio had trouble understanding. Snyder even
considered casting actor Christian Bale in a different role in his Justice League universe
just to demonstrate that Bale's Batman would be completely replaced. In the end, everyone
got the idea. Cloth, not Combat Armor
Ben Affleck's Batsuit couldn't be more different from the versions before, but it's not just
a case of changing looks. The costume designer claims that the decision to build the suit
out of cloth and fabrics, as opposed to body armor, was an intentional choice, sending
the message that it was muscle that made this Batman dangerous, not cutting edge technology.
Filling Out To make sure that he would be up to that challenge,
Ben Affleck apparently began intense training the day after he was cast, eventually adding
more than 20 pounds of muscle to his frame, and dropping to just 8% body fat.
Second Time's The Charm Henry Cavill learned his lesson when he decided
to gain weight for a role between filming The Immortals and Man of Steel. By staying
at his Superman size, he had a serious headstart, adding twice the bulk that had stunned audiences
in Man of Steel. When the first official photo showed Superman even more broadchested than
before, it was worth the work. Written Warnings
Getting cast as a famous superhero is guaranteed to bring out the critics. Warner Bros. was
well aware of that fact, so to calm Ben Affleck's fears, they found some of the worst reactions
fans had to now famous and beloved actors in superheroes roles. The message was sent,
but Affleck couldn't help himself, reading the first negative comment, and swearing off
the Internet conversation completely. A Dark Knight Director
Having won an Oscar from behind the camera, Ben Affleck admitted that shooting the film
was a crash course in blockbuster directing. When reading the script, Affleck admitted
he couldn't help blocking out the scene and picturing the camera angles he would use.
But when he arrived on set, Zack Snyder's solutions and use of cutting edge filming
techniques showed Affleck that he still had a lot to learn if he hoped to tackle a comic
book movie himself. Crimefighting Isn't Cheap
Like any Batman fan, Ben Affleck made sure to lay claim to the Batsuit when production
wrapped. Apparently, even a millionaire movie star isn't as rich as Bruce Wayne, since the
costume department told him he could absolutely take home the souvenir - if he covered the
$100,000 price tag. Affleck decided on taking plenty of photos instead.
Those are just some of the incredible details, bits of trivia and stories from the set of
DC's superhero showdown, but which ones have we missed? Let us know in the comments, and
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