The R-rated DVD version should have some interesting content for us to see, including footage of Jena Malone’s character!
[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]oday marks the day that we see the DC universe come together with the release of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. A few weeks ago, we learned that there will be a R-rated director’s cut (according to director Zack Snyder) of the movie. Now, we know that it will be three hours long, which is 30 minutes longer than the theatrical version.
“[The DVD version] is a half-hour longer, and some of that additional material is some of the stuff we took out for the rating. I was like, ‘Cool, I can put it back in for the director’s cut.’ There was nothing by design. This was the material I just put back in, and then when [the MPAA] looked at it again, they were like, ‘Oh, now the movie’s rated R.’ And, by the way, it’s not a hard R. There’s no nudity. There’s a little bit of violence. It just tips the scale.”
Deborah Snyder, Zack’s wife and producing partner, pointed out that although some think that the R-rated director’s cut is just a counter to Marvel’s Deadpool, it was already finished long before the release of Deadpool. Despite the movie already looking pretty dark, it will be interesting to find out what content didn’t make the theatrical cut.
In response to the complaints of the movie being “too serious,” Snyder brought up The Dark Knight as an example that having a serious approach to comic book genres is successful.
“I would go back to the Dark Knight argument and say, ‘Is that a bad thing? What does that mean?; By the way, the most serious movies I’ve made in the past always have irony in them. I just gave it the weight that it deserves as far as the mythological conformation. But it’s still a guy in a red and blue suit fighting a guy in a black suit. I mean, they’re in costumes. The movie is fun, and Batman fights Superman. If you can’t have fun there, then something’s kind of wrong with you.”
When it comes to the DC Universe, Snyder is on top and in control. He’s already got projects like Wonder Woman underway and will be the director of Justice League: Part One. Deborah elaborated on the Warner Bros’s philosophy when it comes to making superhero films.
“Zack and [DC chief creative officer] Geoff Johns have outlined a timeline of where everybody is based off of, where our characters go in Justice League. So there’s a framework. But it’s filmmaker-driven, in that we want to hire directors who still have a point of view and that have latitude because we don’t want all the movies to feel the same. David Ayer has a certain tone and feel to what he brought to Suicide Squad, as does Patty [Jenkins] to Wonder Woman. They have freedom to tell their story in the way that it needs to be told.”
Zack commented on the philosophy that included throwing some dirt on his competitors.
“Our philosophy, though, is it’s filmmaker-driven. A lot of it comes from the idea of ‘do unto others.’ How would I feel if I was told, ‘Listen, this is your movie, but shoot it like we say’? It’s not fun and cool, and I don’t think you get the best work from everybody. To understand that, there is a bigger storyline, and let’s all support that and not blow up the entire universe because you have an idea that you think is awesome but doesn’t make sense with the bigger thing.”
Marvel uses most of their cinematographers, production designers and editors for most of the films they create. So Snyder could just be referring to their approach on filmmaking. But with Warner Brothers, Snyder says it’s all about quality:
“The mandate is that we try and make the best movies we can. If you’re making a Flash movie with Ezra Miller, it’s like millennial Flash. It’s going to be a little lighter than making a World War I epic with this feminist icon like Wonder Woman. The films do live in a united universe. I feel like the danger is — and I think that the studio would acknowledge this — when you start to mimic things like tone. Then, when you go to the movie, you pretty much know the experience you’re going to have.”
This movie is the build-up to what will be the Justice League series. Suicide Squad will have a different tone, a more fun-rowdy like environment to it. But Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice will have huge expectations and it will be judged by how well it does. This is long overdue, but it’s nice to see that DC is finally getting the Justice League project underway!
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice is out in theaters as of today!
