zack snyder

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's right there in the title: Batman fighting Superman is the titular attraction (and also maybe some justice?), and yet according to a new survey, Wonder Woman is the part of the film audiences are looking forward to the most. Gal Gadot's debut as the iconic superhero ranked highest in the poll, with Jesse Eisenberg's wacky take on Lex Luthor coming in second.

It’ll be several more days before we find out if Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice managed to break any box office records (early predictions suggest it might not), but Zack Snyder’s superhero epic has already broke at least one record: the film now holds the record for highest ticketing pre-sales…at Fandango, anyway.

Zack Snyder makes superhero movies, but his characters don’t act very heroic. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice features all the other trappings of the superhero genre: Capes, gadgets, outlandish muscles, punching stuff. But the two stars aren’t noble or chivalrous; they’re violent, aggressive, and angry — mostly at each other instead of the bad guys. In Snyder’s formulation, protecting the world from evil isn’t a gift or a calling; it’s a burden. And that feeling is reflected in the movie itself, a burdensome 150- minute slog about two men fighting over who is in the right when both are very clearly in the wrong.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters this week (in four days, but who’s counting?), and although we’ve seen plenty of footage in all the trailers and TV spots, Warner Bros. has released another preview of Zack Snyder’s superhero epic — just in case you’re feeling a bit impatient. Four minutes of B-roll footage has arrived online, offering a sneak peek at some previously unseen sequences, along with another look at the Batmobile in action and one particularly silly Laurence Fishburne.

Close to a decade into Marvel’s extended cinematic universe, we’re conditioned to want our favorite heroes to share the screen, just as in comics. DC has made little apology of taking a different approach, and while both Arrow and Flash stars alike have chimed in on being overlooked to join the big-screen Justice League, Zack Snyder now explains that the CW Flash just wouldn’t fit the DCEU’s tone.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice already has a pretty stacked deck when it comes to characters, with both superheroes bringing their own roster of supporting players to the table in addition to a couple of big villains — maybe more. According to Zack Snyder, there were almost two more villains to contend with in his superhero epic; specifically, a couple of major Batman baddies. And even though these characters never made it into the script, the film still wound up having to leave a few others on the cutting room floor.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters in just six days, and we’re currently sitting at peak marketing for Zack Snyder’s superhero epic, with Warner Bros. unleashing a torrent of clips, featurettes, photos and images leading up to the film’s highly-anticipated release. Today brings two featurettes exploring Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight and Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel, their respective motivations and mythology, and while a lot of it is stuff we’ve been hearing for months (Batman is older and crankier and probably needs a nap!), there’s some footage in these videos that we haven’t seen before.

The movie 300, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, cemented Zack Snyder’s aesthetic and visual style, and although he’s moved on to other projects (like a little movie called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), the director hasn’t let go of the action epic that helped put him on the map. A few weeks ago, Snyder talked about possibly making a George Washington / Revolutionary War movie in the style of 300, but it looks like he has a few other potential applications for that particular concept.

In just one week we’ll finally get to see who will win in the fight between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters. But you don’t have to wait that long to get a new look at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, which you can gaze upon while you listen to Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s complete score for Zack Snyder’s DC superhero epic.

Batman vs. Superman is opening in theaters next week, but an extended, R-rated cut of the film will be included with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the film. While many extended cuts just include a few additional minutes of footage and a couple random edits, Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder says his planned R-rated cut will include a whopping 30 minutes of new footage, pushing it past the three hour mark.