Ever since Man of Steel hit theaters in 2013 many questioned when we’d see the second installment. When Zack Snyder announced Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to be the next movie in the DC Extended Universe, fans debated whether it was a Man of Steel sequel or just the next movie in a building universe.
Rumors got around that David S. Goyer wrote a treatment for Man of Steel 2 with Brainiac in it before Snyder decided he wanted to see Batman in the next movie. Goyer signed on to write both a Man of Steel 2 before it got retitled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League before leaving to create the NBC series Constantine and SyFy’s Krypton.
According to DC Animation director Jay Oliva, Man of Steel was never meant to receive a direct sequel and that it was the 1st chapter of a 5 chapter series of movies. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would be the next chapter, along with Justice League: Part One and Justice League: Part Two, if true what would’ve been the 5th film? Snyder did say a while back that he’s working on a script with Geoff Johns, but never mentioned what the project was, could’ve this been that 5th movie?
This would make sense, with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice presented as the next chapter as opposed to the next film. Comic Books often have a series of issues that you can call chapters that tell one story and fans know that Snyder enjoys telling comic book stories in a way that comic books tell their stories too.
Jay Oliva worked on Man of Steel as a storyboard artist as well as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman and Justice League, so if anyone knows about the inside scoop on what got planned before it shifted gears, he would.
Man of Steel was never meant to have a sequel because it was supposed to be chapter 1 of a 5 chapter story. Notice how BvS follows exactly after MoS? It’s like book two of Harry Potter.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Yep
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Okay school is in session… Back in April 2013 (before MoS released in June) I was tasked with doing the Superman 75 short. I met with Zack who was the exec producer on it and he showed me storyboards of BvS with Batman already in it. AND it was a Batman from DKR.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
I know this as fact because I was there and I remember it very clearly because I was sad that I may not get the opportunity to work on a film that used Miller’s DKR as an influence. Because well you know, I kinda did a little film that did just that. 🙂
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Later that year Zack called me and I flew to Detroit to start work on BvS. This was on thanksgiving and Detroit was cold as heck because the polar vortex. So you can believe what you “heard” or from someone who was there…. revisionist history… yah sure whatevs
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Later that year Zack called me and I flew to Detroit to start work on BvS. This was on thanksgiving and Detroit was cold as heck because the polar vortex. So you can believe what you “heard” or from someone who was there…. revisionist history… yah sure whatevs
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
What’s ever funny is the fact that you doubt this around the very exact date five years ago. I had already started on the short at this time because earlier I had just started Assault on Arkham which I had to step away for two months to do the 75 short.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
The fact that Zack Snyder, David S. Goyer and the rest of the crew had a plan going forward and that got changed due to backlash is a real shame. Snyder started the hashtag #UntilItWasnt to describe a vision for Justice League that never fully materialized and now it looks like its more than just that one film, but the overall vision.
In the 1970’s a similar situation happened when the Salkinds fired Richard Donner from finishing Superman 2 and his plans for the following installments went out the window. Looks like history repeated itself.
After this discussion Oliva goes on to explain the Batman character in the DC Extended Universe and how Superman’s heroics influence him. He explains the idea of doing a character arc where the hero must start in a bad place but rise above and succeed by the end.
Daniel, with all due respect, who would know more about this? You or I? It’s not revisionist history. Seriously I take offense to you insinuating that I don’t know what I’m talking about.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Hi Roger. Oh I don’t know. I think he got Batman just right. Oh I’ve got a little video for you too. 🙂https://t.co/hOEH69MQwS
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Actually, yes he does kill in that story.
— Nutcase (@Nutcase020) April 22, 2018
Hi Roger! 1. BvS’s Batman isn’t EXACTLY the same as Miller’s Batman. It’s just inspired by it. No one said this was a continuation of DKR. It’s like an elseworlds version where some events are mirrored. (Kinda like the marvel films compared to their comic book counterpart)
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
3. In this DCEU, we start with a damaged Batman. One who is still recovering from the death of Robin and has resorted to extreme ways to deal with criminals. As a result from Superman’s death, he changes and sees the error of his ways and strives to be a better hero.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
4. This growth in the character is called story arc. Unlike other superhero films where the character arcs start positive and then go negative (like civil war), we have the opposite. The characters here are flawed but from Superman’s influence, they strive for better.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Let me leave this here with you. Give it a read. Btw you are forgetting my original point… This is a DIFFERENT Batman. Did you watch Nolan’s Batman and ask why it’s not the same as 66 Batman? https://t.co/AkKYYWKuRT
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
Btw Roger you don’t need to inform me of Batman’s rule. I’m well aware of it because you know I kinda did 20 films/tv series with him in it. Guess what? They were all different versions of Batman. Hope this helps you understand why your statement about Zack’s Batman is wrong.
— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) April 22, 2018
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