14 DAY TRIAL // Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder are keeping relatively mum on their latest project, the sequel to “Man of Steel,” “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which, you guessed it, lays the foundation for the “Justice League” movie coming out one year later, and the fans are itching to know more details.
So far, the only casting choices confirmed are Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, who will resume their roles from “Man of Steel,” aka Superman and Lois Lane, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons as Albert the butler.
However, since Snyder has already been confirmed for the “Justice League” movie and since all fans know that Justice League includes more superheroes than these 3 (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) and even some famous sidekicks, there’s a lot of speculation online on who else might be added to the mix.
According to a report on MoviePilot, in “Batman V. Superman,” we might even get to see a character whose connection with Justice League is only through Batman, this being one of his biggest rivals ever, The Joker.
Officially, the name of The Joker hasn’t even been mentioned but that’s not stopping the e-zine from saying he could be included in Snyder’s film, because “eventually Batman will have to face” him and it might very well be now.
The most recent incarnation of The Joker is by the late Heath Ledger, for which he was even awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Ledger delivered a Joker like no other, which redefined the notion of a superhero / movie villain: terrifying, nuanced, and quite possible.
The aforementioned publication believes Tom Hiddleston could make a convincing Joker, albeit perhaps he won’t take the character to such sinister depths as Ledger did. We’ve already seen Hiddleston play a villain in “Thor” and “The Avengers,” and we know that he can be convincing. However, stepping into Ledger’s shoes would not be easy.
Another casting rumor comes from the Spanish E! Multicine, also via MoviePilot, and says that Emily Blunt is being considered as Catwoman, or may have even landed the part already. Anne Hathaway tried her hand as Catwoman, to the most amazing results, in “The Dark Knight Rises,” the third and final Batman film from Nolan.
“The actress Emily Blunt will land on billboards worldwide with her film ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ in what appears to be a great science fiction role. Now her name returns to the orbit of comic adaptations with her possible incorporation in ‘Batman V. Superman,’ directed by Zack Snyder, a film that has been shooting since last month,” the report notes.
Granted, these are just rumors for now, but considering the casting choices made earlier on (Affleck for Batman, Eisenberg for Luthor), which seem so odd that they caused great concern among fans, Hiddleston as The Joker and Blunt as Catwoman actually make a bit more sense, right?
“Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” will arrive in theaters in May 2016.