Controversial ‘Man Of Steel’ Ending To Be Addressed In ‘Batman V Superman,’ Zack Snyder Promises

Many Superman fans weren’t happy with Man of Steel, mostly due to the amount of destruction to the city of Metropolis as well as the countless innocent civilians who died as a result of being caught in the crossfire between Superman and Zod as they battled to the death. For the first time publicly, director Zack Snyder defended his ending to Man of Steel, saying it makes sense, and fans will see why it does in Batman v Superman.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Snyder said he was shocked by audience’s reactions to Man of Steel’s ending. He wanted to show the destructive consequences of a battle in a superhero movie — it makes the film more realistic when things get messy. This was a huge point he wanted to make in Man of Steel.

“I was surprised because that’s the thesis of Superman for me, that you can’t just have superheroes knock around and have there be no consequences.

“There are other superhero movies where they joke about how basically no one’s getting hurt. That’s not us. What is that message? That it’s okay that there’s this massive destruction with zero consequence for anyone?… I don’t want it to be clean. I want you to go, ‘Oh my God, I guess you’re right.’ If you just beat up a guy in an alley he’s not going to just be lying on the ground. It’s going to be messy.”

Snyder says the dead from Man of Steel will be counted, and he had always planned it that way. The carnage from Man of Steel is Batman’s motivation in wanting to take down Superman. In the Batman v Superman trailer, it appears many of the citizens have turned on Superman, and it’s understandable why they would when all they can see is the destructive aftermath. Those citizens might just end up on Batman’s side when he battles Superman.

Ben Affleck, who plays Batman, agrees with the direction Zack Snyder took in showing the consequences of violence at the end of Man of Steel and reveals how it affected his character. Many of Batman’s friends and colleagues died as a result of the Man of Steel’s battle with Zod.

“One of the things I liked was Zack’s idea of showing accountability and the consequences of violence and seeing that there are real people in those buildings. And in fact, one of those buildings was Bruce Wayne’s building so he knew people who died in that Black Zero event.”

According to Superman’s portrayer, British actor Henry Cavill, Batman v. Superman is not a sequel to Man of Steel, but rather an evolution of the newly rebooted DC Universe begun by the latter film. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash will also be in the film.

Were you one of the Superman fans who needed closure at the end of Man of Steel? What do you think of the direction Zack Snyder chose to take Man of Steel’s ending?

[Image courtesy of Warner Bros./DC Entertainment]