I quite enjoyed Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman. One of the things I liked best about it was the care it took in setting up follow-up features in the DC Universe. Yesterday at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. unveiled some of the fruits of that careful planning, with the first teaser trailer for Justice League, and a full-length trailer for Wonder Woman.
Justice League features Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, and looks like a lot of fun. Clearly following in the successful footsteps of Marvel’s Avengers, the film gathers an ensemble cast (including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, J. K. Simmons, Amber Heard and Willem Dafoe) and sets up an epic battle between Earth’s mightiest heroes and an extra-planetary menace.
Principal photography began on April 11, 2016, so this is obviously very early footage. Not a lot is known about the plot, but we do know that Batman assembles the team to take on the interdimensional threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons, as hinted in the closing scenes (and this deleted scene) from Batman vs. Superman. Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder and scheduled for release November 17, 2017.
Be sure to check out the first full-length trailer for Wonder Woman, also released this weekend at Comic-Con. Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, and staring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, and Robin Wright, is the fourth installment in what’s now being called the DC Extended Universe. The producers have whole-heartedly embraced Wonder Woman’s epic backstory, including her origin as Princess Diana of Themyscira, warrior princess of the Amazons of Greek mythology. Gadot surprised me in Batman vs. Superman, pretty much stealing all the scenes she was in, and she brings a marvelous gravity to the role. The film is scheduled to be released on June 2, 2017.