The writing narrative around “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” is a fascinating one that hasn’t really come to full light yet, but it’ll be interesting to hear what exactly transpired when all the filmmakers are ready to talk. You’ll remember Zack Snyder and co. originally had a May, 2015 release date in mind and as early as October of last year, the filmmaker was shooting some kind of football game scene that involved a team from Gotham (Batman’s digs) and Metropolis (obviously the home to Superman). It all seemed like full steam ahead with making this movie.
But it was somewhere around this period (late fall of 2013) where things changed. Characters like Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and (possibly Aquaman/Jason Momoa) were being added into the mix and by December, a new writer had been hired to work on (and possibly rewrite and rethink the whole) film.
The writer, of course, was Chris Terrio, the Academy Award-winning writer behind “Argo,” illustrating that the new Batman, Ben Affleck, had some pull (and likely suggested the guy as a strong candidate to rework the movie). A month after Terrio was hired, “Batman V. Superman” was then pushed from a whole year until May, 2016. It appeared a rethink was needed in order to properly get their obvious plan of a “Justice League” movie in place and create a narrative that adjusted for all these supporting characters (Justice League member Cyborg is in there too and possibly Captain Marvel).
So Terrio wrote “Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” and clearly they liked his work (curiously, David S. Goyer seems to be absent from the mix and it won’t be a surprise if he only gets a story by credit and is more of a producer on the project ultimately).
Deadline reports that Terrio is being sought to also write the “Justice League” movie which lends further credence that “Justice League” will be the next movie after ‘Dawn of Justice,’ will arrive in 2017 and may even shoot back to back with its predecessor. It makes sense given that Zack Snyder will be directing “Justice League” and surely they’d want the same creative team back if ‘Dawn Of Justice’ has gone so well. This is probably not the career that Terrio envisioned, but it’s also not the kind of path you say no to, considering the screenwriter is still fairly new ("Argo" was his first produced screenplay; must be nice to get an Oscar the first time out).
That’s it in terms of news, but Warner Bros.‘ Comic-Con panel is tomorrow, “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” is going to be the crown jewel of their presentation and we should probably expect a few official announcements (one of them probably being The Rock, Dwayne Johnson cast as Shazam or Black Adam in a “Captain Marvel” movie.
What else to expect? Well, to see if Nikki Finke’s original D.C. report—seven films slotted between now and May 2018—pans out. If it’s true, it’s an immensely ambitious schedule, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner/D.C. unveil a few titles and release dates, but not all of them just in case things shift as they are wont to do. More tomorrow.
While it seems as though Warner are just trying to replicate Marvel’s success, here’s two related pieces you could mull over.
1. David S. Goyer Discusses Connecting The D.C. Universe For WB & Not Emulating Marvel.
And 2. How The ‘Avengers’-Izing Of Blockbusters Is Killing Movies.