Batman’s Role in Suicide Squad is Even More Crucial Than We Thought

Batman's Role in Suicide Squad is Even More Crucial Than We Thought

The recent Suicide Squad footage gave us a glimpse of Batman’s cameo in the film—but there’s even more to it than we realized. A new interview with Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder and his collaborators has revealed a lot more about how these films will connect up.

Snyder and company spoke to Empire Magazine (which is where you get the photo above, these, and some new ones below) about the entirety of the DC movie universe, how the films link up, how they’re being constructed, and specifics about multiple story points in Batman v Superman. Here are the highlights.

Minor spoilers follow.

Batman is the one who personally captured every single member of the Suicide Squad and in the trailer, we’re seeing a flashback to how he captured Harley Quinn. (No mention if he gets the Joker, too.)
Justice League was the jumping off point for this whole DC universe idea. “What we are doing is ground up all the way. It is one giant story,” Snyder said. “The first thing we had was the Justice League concept. The other movies, in a way, have to support that. That is our Wonder Woman, our Aquaman. They have their own creative concepts that supports them, but they do serve Justice League in the coming together of those heroes. I want all the other directors of the other films to be able to stretch their legs and do what they want, but at the same time there is a big interconnected universe. I have given everyone amazing access to our story, to me, and what we are doing. All the films have like-minded conceptual jumping on points.”
Batman will have a lot of history to him. “We are playing him 45 or 46” years old, Snyder said. “He has been Batman for 20 years. All the history is there. Was there a Robin at one time? Possibly. We want to assume that Batman has reached this point in his life and career as a superhero, and Superman represents a sort of philosophical change. He is a paradigm shift for Batman: ‘I’ve been fighting criminals all my life, trying to find justice, and now I am confronted with a concept that is transcendent to me.’ In the face of Superman, a man robbing a bank doesn’t matter. He’s having a crisis of conscience. ‘Am I really just a vigilante who stalks the alleys of Gotham?’ It is rich stuff that he deals with. Ben does an amazing job.”
The Batman v Superman trailer already reveals that Robin has died, but this interview strongly suggests Commissioner James Gordon will also already be dead. This would confirm a rumor that surfaced several months back.
To some, Batman may be considered the villain of Batman v Superman: “It’s a point of view thing,” said Snyder. “That is why ‘Dawn of Justice’ is the full title. What it does is allow us to start this conversation.”
Bruce Wayne will not be living in Wayne Manor in Batman v Superman. He’s in a lakeside house called “The Glasshouse.”
Snyder was very intimidated at the thought of doing a Batman solo film. “If it was a Batman movie it would be a much more difficult proposition because of how good Chris’ movies are,” said Snyder. “We live in gratitude to those movies. Chris set a tone for the DC Universe, and separated us from Marvel in a great way. We are the legacy of those movies.”
Clark Kent and Lois Lane are now “shacking up” together in Metropolis.
Aquaman has an “elusive cameo” in Batman v Superman. “You will understand he exists,” Snyder said.