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'He Was The One That Mentioned To Me': Zack Snyder Credits Leonardo Di Caprio For Ideating Batman V Superman; Here's HOW
Leonardo DiCaprio was a contender for the Lex Luthor part, but Zack Snyder decided against asking Jesse Eisenberg to play the bald man.
During a recent conversation with Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Snyder said that he spoke with the Oscar-winning star of Killers of the Flower Moon about the 2016 movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
How would Batman be different?
"In the end, I believe he said something like, 'eh, I don't know.' DiCaprio had a lot of great ideas, actually, just in the meeting," Snyder continued. "But he was really smart about the material and really smart about the character. It was he who first brought up the concept of Superman taking on the Justice League to me."
Zack also discussed the impending release of the second installment of his Rebel Moon flicks on Netflix. During the talk, host Josh Horowitz questioned the veracity of rumors that the studio was considering Tom Hanks or Adam Driver for the antagonist part.
Snyder continued by saying that he discussed the part of the crafty billionaire with Adam Driver as well. In his 2017 picture Justice League and his extended version, Zack Snyder's Justice League, which ran for four hours and two minutes in 2021, the director addressed DiCaprio's theory that Superman may battle his teammates.
The Killers of the Flower Moon star was approached before to play a role in a superhero movie, even before Batman vs Superman. Horowitz was previously informed by David S. Goyer, who co-wrote Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, that DiCaprio was also in talks to appear in those pictures.
In 2023, the screenwriter recollected, "I remembered that at the premiere of The Dark Knight, the CEO of Warner Bros. told me that I had to do The Riddler. "Leo as the Riddler," he said to me, "You need to let Chris know that Leo is the Riddler."
Why was Batman not included in Justice League films?
Josh Brolin revealed to the same podcast in 2022 that he was vying with Ben Affleck for the role of Batman in Snyder's superhero movies Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Justice League sequel. Although Brolin found the notion "interesting," he acknowledged that Snyder's final decision was "his decision, not mine." Brolin continued, "That would have been a fun deal, honestly." "And when I'm eighty, maybe I'll do it."
Zack Snyder explained his decision to make Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice a part of the DCEU rather than a direct sequel. Snyder was a crucial figure in the DCEU before its dissolution. In addition to producing Wonder Woman and Aquaman, he directed all of the DCEU films starring Superman and Batman. The unanimity surrounding Batman v. Superman, which came out right after the generally positive Man of Steel rather than Man of Steel 2, ultimately tainted his reign.
Snyder explained his decision in an interview with GQ, stating that he could not postpone seeing what Batman's reaction to the events of Man of Steel would have been. This also clarifies why a solo DCEU Batman film was not included in the Justice League films; it would have needed to be a prequel or take place during the Man of Steel events. Instead, Man of Steel 2 and a Batman solo were supposed to come after Justice League.
Snyder's remarks addressed an important aspect of Man of Steel 2's storyline since insiders allegedly disclosed that Brainiac was supposed to be the antagonist. Snyder doesn't go so far as to say that this was always the idea, but it does provide some credence to rumors that Steven Knight, the man behind Peaky Blinders, was writing a script in which Brainiac would have been the main antagonist facing Superman. The fact that this would have been the villain's first live-action film role made it an especially intriguing direction for the DCEU to go.
Only two of Superman's most recognizable antagonists from DC Comics have seen live-action adaptations: Brainiac in Smallville and Krypton. This might be the case because Brainiac is a villain whose main strategy is to absorb all of the knowledge in the universe while constricting cities to fit inside bottles. It is impossible to imagine Brainiac functioning effectively in a realistic live-action rendition. Sadly, it will never be known whether this somewhat off-kilter motivation would have worked in the DCEU, which was looking much more whimsical at the time of The Flash's premiere.
ALSO READ: Justice League 2: Zack Snyder Hopes to Finish DC's Trilogy; Here's What Studio Plans Ahead
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