Even before his friend Ben Affleck joined the cast as Batman, Kevin Smith was anticipating ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. After all, the fan favorite filmmaker does host a podcast called ‘Fat Man On Batman’, so of course he’s excited for the Dark Knight’s next big screen outing. But thanks to his man on the inside, he just might be getting a little more information about what DC and WB have in store for their cinematic universe before the rest of us. He’s been talking about the new Batsuit since November, which is six months before we all got to see it. Now, it seems like Smith has some more insider info about the cinematic futures of Batman, Superman, and the rest of their Superfriends.
During the latest episode of Smith’s podcast with Ralph Garman called ‘Hollywood Babble-On’, the ‘Clerks’ and ‘Mallrats’ writer/director outlines what he feels is happening with the DC Cinematic Universe. According to him, rather than spinning off all their heroes into individual franchises, the follow up to ‘Man of Steel’ will just present the next chapter in a series meant to establish one giant franchise filled with superheroes that will eventually lead to a huge event:
“But look, they’re obviously beginning something, and there’s a stretch of these flicks, and so this is the beginning of the Justice League, as we all suspected as they were announcing that cast. We were like, ‘This is the beginning of a Justice League movie.’ From what I understand now, it’s no longer like, ‘This is Superman 2.’ They’re not doing these things. They’re doing like, ‘Here’s Man of Steel. Here’s Batman/Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ The next one is not like a sequel to one of the characters. They’re just going to keep building their universe for about five or six movies. But all of them…it’s supposed to tell one massive story, which is all Justice League oriented.”
Of course, since Smith isn’t involved in ‘Batman v Superman’ in any official capacity, it’s very possible that he’s just speculating. However, with his relationship with Batfleck well documented and the fact that Affleck has signed on to star in multiple DC films , it is possible that the ‘Chasing Amy’ star may have dropped a few hints to his long-time friend. But whether or not this is actually the plan, it is a unique approach to creating a shared film world. The only downside though is that we’d have to wait much longer in between installments. With Marvel, we have solo films for characters like Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man in between ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’ to hold us over. DC wouldn’t have that option since Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the heroes they introduce along the way would be featured in all the movies moving forward that we’d potentially see every other year or so.
Even though they should be taken with a grain of salt for now, what do you think of Kevin Smith’s comments on ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ and the future of the DC Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments.
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jeremy Irons opens on May 6, 2016.