When it comes to BATMAN V SUPERMAN, two things that had passionate fans and scornful dissenters agreeing was that Ben Affleck rocked it as Batman/Bruce Wayne and that Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was…yeah. However, one character’s interpretation that still has each camp throwing tomatoes at each other is Superman/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill). A lot of fans think this version is suitably more grounded and a far-cry from other on-screen versions, whereas dissenters think he’s just a mopey mannequin.
But one word that gets lumped in when talking about this new Supes is “darker”—as if he’s a teenager going through a goth phase. However, that’s one word BVS and JUSTICE LEAGUE producer Deborah Snyder doesn’t agree with, and something she elaborated on during an interview with Forbes:
“It’s about these journeys. I mean, Zack really loves Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey. And these characters are just so mythic, and their journeys– I always say they’re journeys are what we can relate to. Because we can’t relate to their powers, so what do you have?”
“That’s the great thing about our Superman. He is more relatable. Someone said, ‘It’s so dark,’ and I go, ‘Well, is it dark? He’s going through real problems that we go through as people every day.’ To me that’s not dark, that’s life. We’re complicated people. And we’re making him in that way more relatable. So I don’t think that’s dark, I think that’s just who we are. People are complex, we’re not strictly just the good Boy Scout trying to do good. He does want to do good, and I think all of the the things Superman represents are who he is, but he also stumbles along the way and learns from it. To me, that’s so much more interesting.”
One of the things people are wondering about JUSTICE LEAGUE is if the filmmakers will try to make the movie less serious than previous movies in the franchise. From what we saw in the Comic-Con footage, this is the case in regards to Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller), who definitely appears to bring some comic relief to the flick. However, Snyder seems to be confident in the tone of the whole franchise, and thinks Superman's emotional nature is what makes him interesting, which means they probably won't have him making quips like Iron Man anytime soon.
But that's what some people like about the character. They think this new Supes is more thoughtful, and like that he spends time contemplating his place here on Earth. Others think this just makes him look whiny. No matter what, to agree with Snyder, I think until Superman starts talking about how horrible life is and listening to nothing but Marilyn Manson that maybe “dark” isn’t the right word to describe him as a character.
We will probably get to see Cavill as Superman again in JUSTICE LEAGUE, which will star Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher and opens November 17, 2017.