Superman Portrayed as 'False God' in Leaked 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' Trailer; Dark Knight Called to Destroy Him
Director Zack Snyder seems to be keeping with the same faith-based themes he laid out in 2013's "Man of Steel" as a recently leaked "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" trailer reveals that the hero is viewed by some of the public as a "false god."
The clip, which appears to be footage taken from a movie theater where the trailer was being shown before a film in IMAX, displays both Batman and Superman, and it seems that the Dark Knight has been given the task to ease the fears of the public by taking on the Man of Steel.
Snyder's 2013 portrayal of Superman in "Man of Steel" featured a Christ-like depiction of him with various scenes, such as him falling in space as if he was nailed to a cross and being a son sent to Earth to save it. The faith angles were imbedded in Superman folklore, according to Snyder's wife, Deborah, who was a producer on the film.
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"I think these things are touched upon within the canon of Superman. I think they are why this character has existed for 75 years, because there's depth to [his story].
"David Goyer did an amazing job with the script. Zack then took the script and created imagery to support some of these ideas of sacrifice, doing good, family and what it means. The struggle to do good is something [I take away] from it. Sometimes it's very hard. Those are things that resonate with me," she told CP in a 2013 interview.
Superman, however, seems to be portrayed in a more negative light with Batman as a sort of policeman for him. This is basically the reversal of the storyline found in Frank Miller's classic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns that features an older, worn down Batman coming out of retirement and the government using Superman to put him back there.
Snyder said in a previous interview with Forbes last year that The Dark Knight Returns, which was released in the 1980s, sparked his interest in comics.
"Frank [Miller]'s book really made me see that comic books, and Batman specifically, could really reflect political and social concepts that I felt like maybe before I hadn't imagined were possible," said Snyder.
The new film also seems to take an even darker tone than "Man of Steel," which told the origin story of Superman and took a more brooding and tortured approach from the original films starring Christopher Reeves and the Bryan Singer 2006 remake, "Superman Returns."
"Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2016.
