“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”: 40 amazing facts about the movie!

1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

2. It is intended to be the follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel and the second installment in the DC Extended Universe.

3. The film stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Gal Gadot.

4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be the first live-action film to feature both Batman and Superman, as well as the first theatrical film to feature live-action portrayals of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg.

5. The film was announced at 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, after the release of Man of Steel. Snyder and Goyer were both brought back in June 2013.

6. Snyder stated that the film would take inspiration from the Batman limited series The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, but that it would follow an original premise.

7.  Pre-production began at East Los Angeles College in October 2013, with principal photography starting in May 2014 in Detroit, Michigan, with additional filming in Chicago, Illinois.

8. Filming concluded in December 2014. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 25, 2016, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D.

9. Following the events of Man of Steel, Gotham City-based vigilante Batman travels to Metropolis to preemptively combat Superman, while another threat endangers humankind.

10. Ben Affleck asked Christian Bale for any advice he could give about playing Batman. Bale told him to “make sure you can piss in that suit.” The two men met quite by accident in a costume shop. They were both buying a Batman costume for their sons.

11. A rough cut of the film was shown for the executives at Warner Bros. They were reportedly so impressed that they not only gave the film a standing ovation, but also began negotiating a deal with Ben Affleck to have him make three solo Batman movies, rather than the original plan to make only one.

12. Henry Cavill put on twice the amount of muscle mass for this film than he did for Man of Steel (2013). His trainer said that it was possible because Cavill had kept up a lot of his Superman fitness regimes in the break between the two films, so they were able to build on that foundation and achieve an even bigger body this time around.

13. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Ben Affleck said he was warned by Warner Bros. about the possible negative reaction to his casting and was advised to remain off the Internet after the casting announcement. He also said to assuage his concerns the studio showed him negative comments that fans had initially made to previous superhero castings. Affleck said in spite of the studio warnings he still checked out an online message board. The first comment he read was “Affleck as Batman? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” After seeing that he immediately went offline.

14. Ben Affleck gained an additional 30lbs of muscle and reached 8% body fat for his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

15. When Gal Gadot was asked by a reporter about how she would get Wonder Woman’s breasts from the comics, she answered: “Wonder Woman is amazonian, and historically accurate Amazonian women actually had only one breast. So, if I’d really go ‘by the book’…it’d be problematic.” Gadot practiced Kung Fu, kick boxing, sword fight, jujitsu and capoeira as part of her physical preparation for the role.

16. Christian Bale mentioned in an interview that he felt like he wanted to continue playing Batman. He then jokingly said, “I’m jealous of someone else playing Batman.” Bale portrayed Bruce Wayne/ Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy.

17. Hans Zimmer composed a separate theme for each superhero in this film (except for Batman), which is set to be featured in The Justice League Part One (2017) and in each superhero’s standalone movie as well.

18. Ben Affleck stated in a interview that he had asked if he could have the batsuit when filming was complete. The producers said yes, but that he’d have to pay $100,000 in order to keep it. Affleck quickly changed his mind and asked if he could just take a picture with it instead.

19. According to Ben Affleck, he was surprised when he was offered the Batman role and was at first hesitant to commit to it. He was won over after a meeting with director Zack Snyder, who pitched Affleck his vision of Batman and showed him concept art for the film.

20. Jimmy Fallon once asked Ben Affleck what his daughters thought of him being Batman and he said, “They don’t care. All they want to watch is Frozen”.

21. The batsuit that Ben Affleck wears is based on Batman’s suit in the comic book “The Dark Knight Returns”, written by Frank Miller.

22. The producers state that this is the very first DC Comics film that opens up to a cinematic universe for its heroes: “Batman is being brought into the universe that now this Superman lives in.”

23. Ben Affleck began working out two hours a day the very next day after he was cast as Batman, to get ready for the role.

24. Jason Momoa confirmed that his contract for DC was a 4-picture deal.

25. This will be the first live action film to include Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman (or the Trinity) together.

26. This is Diana Prince/Wonder Woman’s first live action theatrical film appearance. The character has previously appeared in television programs and direct-to-DVD animated films.

27. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. He was subsequently given the role of Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father.

28. This will be the tenth time Batman has been portrayed since 1943. Superman, on the other hand, has been portrayed sixteen times since 1939.

29. Ben Affleck will portray Batman in this film, Suicide Squad (2016), The Justice League Part One (2017), Untitled Batman Reboot, Justice League Part Two (2019), and possibly 2 sequels to the Untitled Batman Reboot.

30. Stephen Amell, from the TV series Arrow (2012), expressed interest in being in the film.

31. After seeing his performance in Cloud Atlas (2012), the studio wanted Tom Hanks to portray Lex Luthor.

32. Idris Elba, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Matthew Goode, Richard Armitage, Max Martini, Armie Hammer, Jensen Ackles, Joe Manganiello and Matthias Schoenaerts were all speculated to play the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman before Ben Affleck was chosen for the role.

33. Timothy Dalton was considered for Alfred Pennyworth.

34. This is the first theatrical film to feature Cyborg and his secret identity, Victor Stone.

35. Ben Affleck was originally offered to direct the predecessor, Man of Steel (2013), but turned down the offer saying he wasn’t experienced in visual effects shots: “A lesson I’ve learned is to not look at movies based on budget, how much they’ll spend on effects or where they will shoot. Story is what’s important.” He was later cast to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in the sequel.

36. Ben Affleck is 18 months older than Christian Bale, marking the first time the actor taking on the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne is older than the actor who last played the role in a live action movie. All other Batman roles the actor succeeding the role has been younger than the actor who previously played the character. Val Kilmer took the role from Michael Keaton and he is 8 years younger. George Clooney, who is 18 months younger, took the role from Kilmer. Bale is 13 years younger than Clooney.

37. The film was originally scheduled for release in 2015, but was moved to 2016 to “allow the filmmakers time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story.”

38. Michael Wilkinson, commenting on the design of the Batman look, said that, “Zack Snyder said that the most important thing for our Batman is that he come across as a really hulking big guy who’s super pumped up. He’s going to be even bigger than our Superman in silhouette. His strength is not through armor and gadgets, he’s basically a tower of muscle. Zack is a huge fan of Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. And we looked a lot at that silhouette when we were creating our silhouette. The cowl I am super proud of. There’s always been this huge thing about can he actually turn his head. It does allow full range of movement and he can do all his stunts in the cowl.”

39. This will be Zack Snyder’s third film with DC. His first being Watchmen, and his second being Man of Steel. Zack has signed on for two more movies to direct and those two are The Justice League part one and two.

40. In Hollywoodland (2006), Ben Affleck stars as George Reeves, the actor who played Superman/Clark Kent in Adventures of Superman (1952). This makes Ben Affleck the first actor to portray, in one form or another, both Batman and Superman as part of a major motion picture.