I don’t think this is a Superman sequel any more. With so much attention being drawn to Marvel it is only right to talk about DC. Whilst the initial prospect was promising, announcements made by the studios developing this film have quelled my excitement. I fear DC are attempting to overcompensate for their lack of a ‘Justice League’ by bloating ‘Batman vs Superman’. The recent ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2‘ was designed to introduce the ‘Sinister Six’, by the sound of things ‘Batman vs Superman’ is heading the same way; a sequel is being made just to accommodate another sequel. Terrible casting choices have been made and too many characters have been crowbarred in. With this in mind, Snyder will have to pull off something extraordinary to rescue this chaotic mess.

Very recently Warner Bros. confirmed that ‘Ray Fisher’ is to play ‘Cyborg’; a member of the Justice League. This begs the question is this a Superman film or a Justice League film? If it’s the latter then this motif should have been established in ‘Man of Steel’ accurately as opposed to 2 second shots of ‘Wayne Enterprises’. The desire to create a broad universe could not have stemmed from ‘Man of Steel’ as it’s agenda wasn’t broad enough. I feel the purpose of the film is being lost in translation. Cyborg may have a cameo and a very short appearance, but is this appearance even necessary? I cannot comment upon the casting of the character, but the role feels unnecessary and diminishes the notion of a ‘Superman’ sequel. The announcement of Cyborg makes me anxious as I feel it will be a bloated film that doesn’t develop characters enough due the large amount of them.

The casting calamities doesn’t end with Cyborg, Gal Gadot was cast as ‘Wonder Woman’. I have a hunch she will have a larger role than Cyborg and I understand the purpose of her being in the film. But my issue is with the choice of actress. Gal Gadot is skinny and frail, everything a Wonder Woman shouldn’t be, a more appropriate choice would have been the naturally buff Gina Carano who looks like Wonder Woman.  In addition to this, Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor. For me, this was a complete miscast. He does every film with the same persona, a geeky fast talker. This isn’t bad, it’s just not Lex Luthor. This film has too many miscasts, I just hope the focus isn’t on them and the film focuses on Superman and Batman.

I say this film is doomed because it feels confused already, in pre-production the ideas should be clear. But we have already heard conflicting statements such as this is a Superman sequel, compared to this is a film that will set up the Justice League movie. I believe one film will not be adequate to do this. For example, Marvel took 5 films to establish the ‘Avengers’ and to attempt to set up the ‘Justice League’ with one movie is bold and incredibly foolish.

The truth is, we just don’t know enough about the film yet. No judgements can be made till the films actual release. Initially, Heath Ledger was perceived as one of the greatest miscasts of all time yet he won an Oscar for an outstanding performance. Whilst I doubt they can do the same, Eisenberg and Gadot have potential to mould the audiences perception. A film is not doomed due to it’s casting choices, it’s the execution of the film that counts. If there is one judgement that can be passed it is that Snyder has made it very difficult to execute this film correctly as he has bombarded himself with a mammoth task of establishing a fully fleshed out universe in one movie.

Keep faith.

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