Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: batan v superman, ben affleck, bvs, david goyer, dc, dc comics, entertainment, film, zack snyder

"Batman Vs. Superman – Where You Go When You've Exhausted All Possibilities" – David Goyer, A Decade Ago

In 2002 Warners were wondering what to do with their superheroes. From an LA Times article in 2005…

[Wolfgang] Petersen envisioned a clash between a big-city, brooding Batman motivated by anger, pain and guilt, and a Superman who was all-American, small-town and innocent. He promised "a true existential experience with visual fun." If all went well, he said, the film could be in theaters by summer 2004.

But it had a challenger,

Meanwhile, a script by J.J. Abrams (creator of TV's "Lost" and "Alias") for another Superman film, the first part of a proposed trilogy, had gained favor at the studio. Horn was said to prefer the optimism of the "Superman" script to the darkness of the "Superman Vs. Batman" screenplay. He then took a step that was bizarre even by Hollywood standards: He distributed copies of both scripts to 10 other company executives and solicited their opinions.

Democracy? In Hollywood?

The vote was 11-1 in favor of "Superman" — Di Bonaventura's was the one dissenting vote. For Di Bonaventura, the "Superman Vs. Batman" episode was just symptomatic of a larger rift, and he resigned his post the following month, in September 2002.

And now it's time for the quote. I'll bold it.

In the eyes of many comic book boosters, Warner Bros. made the right decision. " 'Batman Vs. Superman' is where you go when you admit to yourself that you've exhausted all possibilities," says Goyer, who wrote the screenplays for "Blade" and its two sequels. "It's like 'Frankenstein meets Wolfman' or 'Freddy Vs. Jason.' It's somewhat of an admission that this franchise is on its last gasp."

David Goyer is credited for writing the movie Batman V Superman. He is also credited as writer and producer on Man Of Steel, the three recent Batman movies, the Blade movies, the Constantine TV show as well as behind the upcoming Krypton TV series.

But his role in the movie seems to have been diminished. In a press conference, director Zack Snyder said

Once we had committed to that idea, it was only then that it implies that a whole universe exists for Batman and Superman to exist together. I know it seems obvious in the comic book world, but it had not existed in the movies, but once that idea took root and existed as reality, it was then and only then

Goyer was the one who came up with Man Of Steel and pitched it to Christopher Nolan for when Nolan was finishing Dark Knight Rises. Nolan took the pitch to WB and got it greenlit on the strength of him and his wife Emma Thomas producing. Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder came after and Nolan and Thmas dropped out. But now Zack Snyder seems to be claiming credit for creating the DC Extended Universe and pretty much rewriting history to omit David Goyer?

They also seem to be pretending George Miller's aborted Justice League movie and the Batman vs Superman project we mention above didn't exist.

With BVS producer Charles Roven joining in saying "It's a team of us, and the team is obviously Debby, Zack, myself, Geoff Johns is part of it and obviously the [Warner Bros.] creative guys… are all a part of it."

Missing someone? The one who wrote it all?

As for that quote, imagine a couple going to the cinema this weekend

"10 Cloverfield Lane? The Bronze? Kung Fu Panda 3? Deadpool again?"

"Let's go see Batman V Superman."

"I suppose so. We've exhausted all other possibilities."

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