BATMAN V SUPERMAN is a divisive film, to say the least. I myself was not a fan (even though I had loved MAN OF STEEL previously), but I understand it has its followers, and that's cool. However, something most people can agree on is how egregious it was to see Batman straight up murdering people. Like, a lot of f*cking people (it's honestly what personally turned me against the film).
Luckily I (and many fans) are not alone. Geoff Johns agrees, and even elaborates on the problems with the approach Warner Bros. had been taking the DCEU in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal. Here's an excerpt:
Mistakenly in the past I think the studio has said, ‘Oh, DC films are gritty and dark and that’s what makes them different.’ That couldn’t be more wrong,” Johns said. “It’s a hopeful and optimistic view of life. Even Batman has a glimmer of that in him. If he didn’t think he’d make tomorrow better, he’d stop.
Further on in the interview, he mentions how the new JUSTICE LEAGUE film will curtail a lot of Zack Snyder's previous “controversial flourishes" (like the Knightmare Sequence and Batman, you know, killing people). So there's that.
This is great news! While Batman has killed in the comics and in previous movies (which is something I know I'll read in the comments), that doesn't make what he did in BvS not egregious. For one, most of the Batman killing examples are from either the original comics in the 30s-40s (before he was a fully developed character and was a basic Shadow-clone) or were in the Burton/Schumacher movies, which had less-than-respectful takes on the source material (other examples in the comics, like throwing Ra's Al Ghul into the sun or trapping KGBeast to starve, were either pre-Crisis or retconned). After Nolan's earnest, and for the most part, respectful take on the source material (any deaths were at least accidental), to go back on that seemed a step backwards. Furthermore, it makes Batman basically The Punisher (and really, if Batman kills people why is Leto's Douche-Joker still allowed to live?)
But the main point to take away is that the DC films will focus on a more hopeful and optimistic tone, and that WB will stop chasing the grim-'n-gritty dragon.
And that Batman won't be straight up murdering people. I don't think that can be repeated enough.
JUSTICE LEAGUE will be released in theaters November 17th, 2017.
So you guys excited for JUSTICE LEAGUE, or is it three strikes you're out?