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Spoilers (45)
Ben Affleck asked Christian Bale for any advice he could give about playing Batman. Bale told him to "make sure you can piss in that suit." The two men met quite by accident in a costume shop. They were each buying a Batman costume for their kids.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Ben Affleck said he was warned by Warner Bros. about the possible negative reaction to his casting, and was advised to remain off the Internet after the casting announcement. He also said to assuage his concerns, the studio showed him negative comments that fans had initially made to previous superhero castings. Affleck said in spite of the studio warnings, he still checked out an online message board. The first comment he read was, "Affleck as Batman? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" After seeing that, he immediately went offline.
Perry White says, "It's not 1938 anymore," while talking to Clark Kent about people not reading newspapers anymore. Superman was created in 1938.
The film was originally pitched in August 2001 by Andrew Kevin Walker, with Wolfgang Petersen to direct and Akiva Goldsman to script. Goldman's script had Bruce Wayne's fiancée slain by the Joker, which sends him on a revenge rampage and brings him into conflict with Superman who tries to stop him. The film was shelved, but in Goldman's I Am Legend (2007), a teaser poster for the film (the Superman shield inside a bat) was seen in the opening scene.
Hans Zimmer composed a separate theme for each superhero in this film (except for Batman), which is set to be featured in The Justice League Part One (2017) and in each superhero's stand-alone movie as well.
According to Ben Affleck, he was surprised when he was offered the Batman role and was at first hesitant to commit to it. He was won over after a meeting with director Zack Snyder, who pitched Affleck his vision of Batman and showed him concept art for the film.
Ben Affleck gained an additional 20 lbs of muscle and reached 8% body fat for his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Ben Affleck will portray Batman in the film, Suicide Squad (2016), The Justice League Part One (2017), Untitled Batman Reboot, Justice League Part Two (2019), and possibly two sequels to the Untitled Batman Reboot.
A rough cut of the film was shown for the executives at Warner Bros. They were reportedly so impressed that they not only gave the film a standing ovation, but also began negotiating a deal with Ben Affleck to have him make three solo Batman movies, rather than the original plan to make only one.
Ben Affleck stated in a interview that he had asked if he could have the batsuit when filming was complete. The producers said yes, but that he would have to pay $100,000 in order to keep it. Affleck quickly changed his mind and asked if he could just take a picture with it instead.
When discussing the film, Henry Cavill said that it would address a major issue that fans and critics had with Man of Steel (2013), involving the huge amount of collateral damage caused in the film's climax during Superman's battle with General Zod in Metropolis. Cavill said that future battle scenes in movies featuring Superman would involve him making sure to not harm civilians himself and to protect them from evil villains.
The batsuit that Ben Affleck wears is based on Batman's suit in the comic book "The Dark Knight Returns," written by Frank Miller and published in 1986.
Superman's suit is considerably brighter, with the blue of the suit being lightened to suit the comic version. The yellow background behind the "S" has been made into a bright gold. Certain patterns in the suit have changed also, notably on the "S."
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. He was subsequently given the role of Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father.
Christian Bale mentioned in an interview that he felt like he wanted to continue playing Batman. He then jokingly said, "I'm jealous of someone else playing Batman." Bale portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012).
When Gal Gadot was asked by a reporter about how she would get Wonder Woman's breasts from the comics, she answered, "Wonder Woman is Amazonian, and historically accurate Amazonian women actually had only one breast. So, if I'd really go 'by the book,' it'd be problematic." Gadot practiced Kung Fu, kick boxing, sword fight, jiu-jitsu and capoeira as part of her physical preparation for the role.
Alfred's line about an empty wine cellar is taken directly from the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns.
Jimmy Fallon once asked Ben Affleck what his daughters thought of him being Batman and he said, "They don't care. All they want to watch is Frozen (2013)."
During the fight scene between Batman and Superman, on one of the pillars in the background is the name JOE and an arrow pointing to the letters KER can be seen. A nod to Batman's arch enemy the Joker.
Michael Wilkinson, commenting on the design of the Batman look, said that "Zack Snyder said that the most important thing for our Batman is that he come across as a really hulking big guy who's super pumped up. He's going to be even bigger than our Superman in silhouette. His strength is not through armor and gadgets, he's basically a tower of muscle. Zack is a huge fan of Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and we looked a lot at that silhouette when we were creating our silhouette, the cowl I am super proud of. There's always been this huge thing about can he actually turn his head. It does allow full range of movement and he can do all his stunts in the cowl."
Ben Affleck began working out two hours a day the very next day after he was cast as Batman, to get ready for the role.
After seeing his performance in Cloud Atlas (2012), the studio wanted Tom Hanks to portray Lex Luthor.
Jesse Eisenberg would walk to the sets in disguise so his Lex Luthor look would not leak.
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson put Amazonian writing into Wonder Woman's suit design, similar to how Kryptonian writing was put into Superman's suit design.
The Waynes are seen walking out of a movie theater, a poster of "The Mark of Zorro" is seen on the theater wall. Though not exclusive to all origin stories, most Canon Batman Origin stories have the Waynes leaving the film "The Mark of Zorro". This trend was originally set in reference to the fact that Batman was largely based on the character of Zorro.
The producers state that this is the very first DC Comics film that opens up to a cinematic universe for its heroes, "Batman is being brought into the universe that now this Superman lives in."
Michael Wilkinson described the updated Superman suit in the following manner, "There are some subtle differences in the belt, the buckle and the glyph (shield). Zack Snyder loved the idea that there is some Kryptonian script embedded in the suit (at the point where the deltoid meets the bicep). He gave me this fantastic quote that he wanted us to translate into the Kryptonian script and incorporate into the suit. The quote deals with the nature of power and the responsibility that comes with it."
This will be the tenth time Batman has been portrayed since 1943. Superman, on the other hand, has been portrayed sixteen times since 1939.
As the camera tracks through one of the abandoned buildings, the graffito "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes" can be seen on a wall in the foreground. The usual translation of this Latin phrase is "Who Watches the Watchmen?" and is thus a key reference to Zack Snyder's prior film and the graphic novel "Watchmen," where the translated phrase partially appears in many frames. It is also the key philosophical question underlying the conflict in this film.
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson deliberately made the Batsuit out of cloth, removing all traces of armor: "Our Batman's power comes from his incredible physical strength and fighting skills."
Ben Affleck was originally offered to direct the predecessor, Man of Steel (2013), but turned down the offer, saying he wasn't experienced in visual effects shots, "A lesson I've learned is to not look at movies based on budget, how much they'll spend on effects or where they will shoot. Story is what's important." He was later cast to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in the sequel.
Before Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Joaquin Phoenix, Adam Driver and Jean Dujardin were in the Warner Bros's list to play the part.
At the end of their fight, Batman cuts Superman across his face with the Kryptonian spear and tells him he was never a god. In 300 (2006), also directed by Zack Snyder, Leonidas does the same thing to Xerxes to remind him of his mortality, that even a god king can bleed.
Charles Roven revealed that at the time, there were 1500 visual FX shots, relatively little compared to other visual effects heavy superhero films.
The glasses Henry Cavill wears as Clark Kent are made by British spectacle designer Tom Davies. Apparently, the costume designer found most glasses sat too high on Henry Cavill's face because he has a high bridge. They sought out Tom Davies, who makes bespoke glasses, to design a one-off pair of spectacles for the job.
Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in the TV series Arrow (2012) reportedly wanted to be in this film. Promotional material revealed that Oliver Queen does exist in the DC Extended Universe.
Ben Affleck stated in an interview that Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Lex Luthor in this film, was the most interesting character. Eisenberg has previously said that Chris Terrio (writer) has created his character with psychological realism.
The visual of Martha's necklace being broken by the firing of the gun held by that mugger and the dream sequence featuring Bruce being lifted into the sky by bats are taken from "The Dark Knight Returns".
Both Batsuits and the Batmobile appear as DLCs in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Christian Bale's Batsuit and Batmobile appear as well.
This will be director Zack Snyder's fourth film with DC, his first being 300 (2006), second being Watchmen (2009) and third, Man of Steel (2013). Snyder has signed on to direct two more movies, The Justice League part one and two.
After a private screening of the final cut, studio executives gave a standing ovation to the film, especially to Ben Affleck's performance.
According to one of the producers, Charles Roven, Ben Affleck was their first choice and the first person they went to for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Timothy Dalton was considered for the role of Alfred J. Pennyworth.
This film marks the third time that the role of Batman has been played by an Oscar-winner. Ben Affleck won best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Best Picture for Argo (2012), Christian Bale won Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter (2010), and George Clooney won Best Supporting Actor for "Syriana," as well as Best Picture for Argo (2012), along with Affleck. This is also the second time an Oscar winner has played Bruce Wayne/Batman's butler, Alfred. Jeremy Irons won Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune (1990) and Michael Caine won two Best Supporting Actors for The Cider House Rules (1999) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).
The film was originally scheduled for release in 2015, but it was moved to 2016 to "allow the filmmakers time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story."
At his absolute peak during the process of training for the film and filming it, Henry Cavill reached a size of 100 kg (220 lbs.). However, he did not remain at that size for the entire duration of the shoot or the training.
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont makes a cameo appearance as Senator Purrington. It's the fourth live action Batman film for the senator, and he's faced four different Batmans: Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.
Ben Affleck is seventeen months older than Christian Bale, marking the first time the actor taking on the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne is older than the actor who last played the role in a live action movie. All other Batman roles the actor succeeding the role has been younger than the actor who previously played the character. Val Kilmer took the role from Michael Keaton and he is eight years younger. George Clooney, who is eighteen months younger, took the role from Kilmer. Bale is thirteen years younger than Clooney.
Gal Gadot is the first non-American actress to play Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. She is also the first actress to perform the role in theatrical films. The character's only previous live action appearances were on television in the 1970s.
In this film Batman wears a voice modulator in his suit to electronically alter his voice. After the casting of Ben Affleck in the role, this was an idea that had been suggested by his friend, director Kevin Smith, as he felt Affleck's natural speaking voice was too high-pitched for Batman.
Bradley Cooper, Chris Pine, Ryan Kwanten, Matthew Fox and Scott Porter were all linked for the role of Barry Allen/The Flash in a previous iteration. Ezra Miller was cast.
In Hollywoodland (2006), Ben Affleck stars as George Reeves, the actor who played Superman/Clark Kent in Adventures of Superman (1952). This makes Ben Affleck the first actor to portray, in one form or another, both Batman and Superman as part of a major motion picture.
The glass house posing as Wayne's (Ben Affleck) place is the same glass house where Elektra (Jennifer Garner) stays while casing her mark in her own movie.
Before Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman, he was reportedly approached by Warner Bros. to direct a Justice League film adaptation in which he would have also portrayed Batman. He was also previously approached to direct Man of Steel (2013).
Zack Snyder's son Eli Snyder was rumoured to play Jason Todd/Robin in a flashback during the movie. This was later denied publicly by Snyder in an interview.
Michael B. Jordan, who lent his voice to Victor Stone/Cyborg in the animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013), was considered for the role of Victor Stone/Cyborg in the live action film. He plays Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four (2015) reboot.
Scott Adkins auditioned for the role of Batman before Ben Affleck was cast. When asked in an interview why he wasn't chosen, Adkins wryly responded "Look, Ben Affleck was always going to have the part, all right? He's got Oscars."
This movie depicts the geographical location between Gotham and Metropolis as being across a bay from one another a la San Fransico & Oakland in California.
A giant creature emerges through Martha Wayne's grave in Bruce's dream as a reference to the Man-Bat, one of Batman's oldest enemies.
Released in the same year as a Marvel comics movie also revolving around two heroes battling each other, Captain America: Civil War (2016).
Doomsday is portrayed by Robin Atkin Downes in motion-capture and voice. This is Downes' third film as a Superman villain: he had previously played Solaris in All-Star Superman (2011) and Manchester Black in Superman vs. The Elite (2012).
Lynda Carter did not like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman outfit, as she said it was missing the red, white, and blue.
According to Tao Okamoto, Jesse Eisenberg changed several of his lines causing some of the actors' reactions to be genuine.
Alfred mentions that one of Batman's targets may not even be real - "a phantasm". A possible nod to the widely loved animated film "Mask of the Phantasm", starring Kevin Conroy as the Caped Crusader.
Actor Henry Cavill did the ALS ice bucket challenge on set with actress Amy Adams, although Cavill had extra buckets of ice thrown on him.
Lex Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves is portrayed by Japanese actress Tao Okamoto. This is the second time Mercy Graves is portrayed of Asian origin, after The Batman (2004).
This is the second superhero film in that Ben Affleck has played a starring role. The first was as Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the film Daredevil (2003). Similar to Batman, Daredevil was also a martial artist and was driven to crime-fighting due to the death of a family member.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan's role as Thomas Wayne was strongly rumored and unconfirmed until he appeared in the San Diego Comic Con trailer.
Armie Hammer was considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. He also had signed on to play the role in George Miller's canceled film "Justice League: Mortal". It would be the second movie with Hammer and Henry Cavill together after The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015).
During an argument in the film, Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) tells Clark (Henry Cavill), "Its not 1938 any more". 1938 is the year Action Comics #1 was published which featured the first appearance of Superman.
The 'v' in the title is an abbreviation of the Latin word 'versus,' meaning 'against.' The title of the film is styled the way court cases are titled. The first party is the claimant (Batman), and he is taking action because he has grievances with the second party, the defendant (Superman).
Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan play Bruce Wayne's parents in the film. They also both appear in the television series The Walking Dead (2010) as Maggie Greene and Negan, respectively. They were both in Supernatural (2005) as well.
The movie stars four Oscar winners: Ben Affleck (Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Best Picture for Argo (2012)), Jeremy Irons (Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune (1990)), Holly Hunter (Best Actress for The Piano (1993)) and Kevin Costner (Best Picture and Best Director for Dances with Wolves (1990)).
During the Cyborg clip Dr. Stone mentions he has "US GOV object 6-19-82" which attaches itself to Victor Stone to create Cyborg. The number 6-19-82 is a reference to the comic Tales of the New Teen Titans #1 (June 1982): "Cyborg".
Bill Finger (developer) co-created Batman, originally named "the Bat-Man" who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939).
Lex Luthor quotes the opening lines of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. Jeremy Irons starred in the leading role of the 1997 film adaption of that novel.
Holly Hunter plays a Senator investigating Superman for his destructive actions and powers. In The Incredibles (2004), she voices Elastigirl/Mrs. Incredible, who is in hiding due to society's suspicion and fear of superheroes' destructive powers.
In the Daily Planet when everyone is watching the news on the TV, the screen next to it shows a football game with the teams being Metropolis and Gotham.
It was rumored that Callan Mulvey would be playing the Joker in this film. However, these turned out to be untrue when it was announced that Jared Leto would play the role in the DC Cinematic Universe.
Though this is the first live-action film in which Batman and Superman have appeared, it is not the first time that a Batman and Superman actor have appeared together. Michael Keaton and Christopher Reeve appeared together in Speechless (1994).
While Bruce is talking to Clark during Lex Luthor's party, Bruce says that Gotham already has enough trouble with villains that like to dress up as clowns. This is a reference to The Joker.
Media reports in 2013 mentioned that Jackie Earle Haley auditioned for a role in the film.
Jason Momoa, who portrays Aquaman, also appeared in Atlantis in the TV series Stargate: Atlantis (2004).
Both Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Michael Cassidy (Jimmy Olsen) and Joe Morton (Silas Stone) appeared in one episode of Smallville (2001) each.
Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom and Luke Evans were considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. All three men were given roles in The Hobbit film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Evans as Bard the Bowman and Bloom reprising his role as Legolas from The Lord of the Rings trilogy also directed by Jackson.
The Football scenes that Zack Snyder filmed when he began principal photography ended up in the background in a Daily Planet scene.
There was massive fan speculation that Dan Amboyer would be portraying Hal Jordan in the build up to the film. Amboyer's own Website put this to rest when it was revealed he would be playing 'Lt. Christie'.
Reunites Ben Affleck with Diane Lane after Hollywoodland (2006), although they meet only a few moments.
Tyler Hoechlin was considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Both Laurence Fishburne (Perry White) and Harry Lennix (Swanwick) were part of The Matrix trilogy Fishburne playing Morpheus and Lennix playing Lock.
There are at least 3 actors in this movie that also had a role in Smallville (2001), a TV series about a young Superman. Amy Adams played Jodi Melville in Smallville: Craving (2001). Joe Morton played Dr. Steven Hamilton in Smallville: Craving (2001), Smallville: Nicodemus (2002), Smallville: Obscura (2002) and Smallville: Duplicity (2002). Michael Cassidy played Grant Gabriel in Smallville: Kara (2007), Smallville: Fierce (2007), Smallville: Action (2007), Smallville: Wrath (2007), Smallville: Blue (2007), Smallville: Gemini (2007) and Smallville: Persona (2008). Man of Steel (2013) had five actors from Smallville (2001) appear.
DC is Marvel's main rival in the superhero/comic book genre. Ben Affleck previously starred in Daredevil (2003) alongside co-star Jon Favreau, who went on to direct Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010) which started up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie is the second movie to be released in the DC Extended Universe.
During the Batman/Superman fight, in one of the walls in the foreground you can see spray painted "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Which can be translated from Latin to "Who guards the guardians?" Or "Who watches the watchmen?" On top of being really relevant to that point of the movie, it also is a reference to Zack Snyder's Watchmen (2009) in which the line is often used in the background. Also in Justice League (2001) in the episode "Divided we fall" Batman makes this question in Latin to Green Arrow to which he replies "We got it covered".
Ben Affleck starred as Daredevil, a Marvel character, before starring as Batman, a DC character. Also this year Ryan Reynolds starred as Deadpool, a Marvel character, after previously starring as Green Lantern, a DC character.
This is Holly Hunter's second superhero movie, the first being Mrs incredible/Helen Parr in The Incredibles (2004).
There is a boat yard in the scene where Batman first meets Superman which is named Nicholson's boat yard. A reference to Jack Nicholson who played the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) movie.
This film marks Callan Mulvey's third comic book/graphic novel adaptation, following his role as Scyllias in 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) and Jack Rollins in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
First live-action portrayal of Wonder Woman since the TV-show from the 1970's, featuring Lynda Carter as the iconic super heroine.
This will be the second time both Michael Cassidy and Scoot McNairy will be in a movie that has Ben Affleck as a lead actor, and the third time that this pairing has been the case for Affleck and McNairy. The first time was for Argo (2012) where Cassidy was an analyst and McNairy was Joe Stafford, one of the six hostages. And in Gone Girl (2014), Affleck's Nick Dunne character has a meeting with McNairy's character.
Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman, was raised in Norwalk, Iowa. Brandon Routh, who played Superman in Superman Returns (2006) is also from Norwalk, Iowa.
Spoilers
Batman has a Robin costume that reads: "The joke's on you." This is a reference to Jason Todd, who served as the second Robin, Batman's sidekick, and who was tortured and beaten to death by the Joker. In some story lines Jason Todd returns as the murderous vigilante, the Red Hood, and in others he never actually died but instead suffered endlessly at the hands of the Joker in an attempt to turn him into an heir to the clown prince of crime.
The nuclear explosion that leaves Superman drained of energy is directly taken from "The Dark Knight Returns".
The ending of the movie is a reversal of the ending of 'The Dark Knight Returns', the comic by which many elements of this film were inspired. In that comic, Batman seemingly dies after the climactic battle only to be revealed as alive, with Clark Kent at the gravesite. Here, Superman dies after the final battle, only to be revealed as alive, with Bruce Wayne at the gravesite.
In the picture where Wonder Woman is shown to be a "meta human" in the Lex Corp documents, the man on her left in the picture is Steve Trevor (who will be played by Chris Pine in the upcoming Wonder Woman movie).
At least three of Batman's hand-to-hand takedowns in the warehouse are taken directly from the Batman: Arkham games. One where he bursts through a wall, another when he breaks a thug's arm backwards, and one where he throws a thug's face straight to the ground. Additionally, there are: the batclaw slam, when Batman uses his batclaw to draw an enemy closer to his fist which knock him (the enemy) down, and the use of devices that destroy the thugs' weapons (aka the Disruptor).
The Flash appearing to deliver an ominous message to Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman is a nod to "Crisis On Infinite Earths" which featured Barry doing the exact same thing, including disappearing before he could make it clear what exactly he was warning Batman about.
One of the films featured at the theater the Waynes are leaving at the beginning of the film is Excalibur (1981). At the end of that movie, King Arthur is impaled on Mordred's spear and pulls himself closer, impaling himself further, to deliver a killing stroke to Mordred. Superman does the same thing, pulling himself further onto Doomsday's bony spike, to be able to deliver the final blow with the kryptonite spear.
Lex Luthor uses his own blood to resurrect General Zod and turn him into Doomsday. In the DC Comics, a secret laboratory called Project Cadmus uses Luthor's blood to mix it with Superman's DNA in order to replicate Superman after his death by Doomsday, creating Conner Kent, new Superboy.
Superman's name was mentioned multiple times during the movie, Batman's only once by Perry White (most of the time he's only referred to as The Bat), and Wonder Woman's, despite her prominent role, not even once, only her undercover name is mentioned once as Ms. Prince.
Lex Luthor's role in this film is based on his appearance in the comic "All-Star Superman", where he is contemptuous of Superman due to his alien nature.
Jason Momoa's portrayal of Aquaman is heavily based on Aquaman's appearance in the comics during the 1990s.
In "The Dark Knight Returns", a 4 issue mini series published in 1986, Batman and Superman fight long after the Justice League is disassembled. In this movie, they fight before the League is even formed.
During the dream sequence while Bruce waits for the files to decrypt, a giant Omega symbol on the sand and some Parademons helping Superman's soldiers can be seen. Parademons and the Omega symbol are linked to Darkseid, ruler of planet Apokilips and an archenemy of the Justice League.
Superman is dead at the end of the movie after killing Doomsday. This is similar to "The Death of Superman" ( Superman comics #75, volume 2), published in 1993, in which they both killed each other.
In the film, Superman apparently dies but at the end his heart is heard beating during his funeral. In "The Dark Knight Returns", Batman fakes his own death and Superman is the only one who hears his heart beating.
Gal Gadot ad-libbed the smirk Wonder Woman does as she battles Doomsday in the climax.
Doomsday in this version is based on anything but his origin in the comics (the ultimate lifeform created by scientists on Krypton), and arguably incorporates elements from the Golden Age Green Lantern villain Solomon Grundy (an undead villain brought back to life).
When Superman begins to fly into space with Doomsday, the government launches a nuclear missile which leaves Superman floating in space. The scene with Superman decaying in space after being hit with the nuclear rocket is similar to a sequence from The Dark Knight Returns, from which this film takes ideas. In the graphic novel, Superman is caught in a nuclear explosion from a nuclear warhead, he then absorbs sunlight from plants so that he can regain his powers. This is different from the film, however, as Superman gains strength back from the sun as the Earth's rotation causes its rays to come into contact with him.
Joe Morton is shown as the creator of Cyborg, which is the second time he has made a cybernetic organism. The first being in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) where he was cast as Miles Dyson.
The device Silas Stone uses to rebuild his son Victor (aka Cyborg) is a Mother Box, that in DC Comics can teleport people through Boom Tubes and it comes from Apokolips, Darkseid's home planet. Mother Box and the Boom Tubes are also used by the people of New Genesis, Apokolips' good version who lead by Highfather try to defeat Darkseid and his evil companions.
Alfred jokes about the possibility that Bruce Wayne someday turns in the father of a new generation of the Wayne's family. In the comic "Batman: Son of the Demon" published in 1987, Batman and Talia Al'Ghul become the parents of Damian Wayne, who eventually became the fifth Robin, the Boy Wonder (following Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown).
During the battle between Batman and Superman, Batman utilizes different weapons in his fight against Superman. Some of these weapons have similarities to weapons from The Dark Knight Returns. The sonic amplifier weapons that deploy when Superman steps on a panel in the ground have similarities to Batman's sonic rifle from the graphic novel. The Kryptonite grenades that Batman fires from his grenade launcher are similar to the Kryptonite arrow that Green Arrow uses against Superman in the book. The two both explode and emit Kryptonite Gas from their cases.
Michael Shannon, who played Zod in Man of Steel (2013) is reprising his role again as a corpse. He said that he wore a flipper like extension on his hands. He was left trapped in a porta loo on set because of his inability to use his hands but it was later revealed that he made the whole story up. On the Batman v Superman edition of Conan (2010) Jesse Eisenberg revealed Michael Shannon wasn't in the movie but gave permission to have the make up department put his likeness on a dummy for Jesse to act to in his scenes.
In the original comics, The Justice League was formed when the alien being Starro came to conquer Earth. Here, it appears that Future Batman sends The Flash back in time to warn Bruce about Superman. This is most likely a nod to when Batman sent The Flash back in time to tell everyone that Darkseid had corrupted Superman. This scene in Dawn of Justice (2016) could most likely set up either The Justice League Part One (2017) or The Justice League Part Two (2019).
At 6'4 which is 2 inches from Batman's height at 6'2, Ben Affleck is the tallest actor to portray Batman.
When Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is walking towards Anatoli Knyazev (Callan Mulvey), the song "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" (written by Cole Porter; performed by Mark Jonathan Davis & Lounge Against The Machine) can be heard. The lyric in question is "Every time we say goodbye, I die a little." This is a foreshadowing of what Knyazev says to Martha Kent (Diane Lane) after she has been kidnapped: "We must say goodbye soon. And every time we say goodbye, you die a little."
Superman's coffin is black with a silver "S" on top. This is a nod to when Superman came back to life in "Reign of the Supermen!" and wore a black costume with a silver "S" on it.
During the opening battle in Metropolis a grey horse is seen passing Bruce Wayne in the rubble. In the graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns" Batman is seen riding a grey horse.
After Superman's death, the cellular towers form crosses in the background, alluding to the connection of a savior laying down his life like in the Christian religion.
A deleted scene, made available online after the movie was released, depicts Lex talking with an alien creature who wields a Mother Box. As a SWAT team comes in to arrest Lex the being disappears, hinting that Lex knows more then he lets on.
When Clark Kent is in the mountains, he encounters the ghost of Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner). Although it seems to be a vision or hallucination, this experience is based on fact and is known as Third Man Factor, which occurs in situations of extreme risk or mortal danger where voices or even presences help to keep a person alive. One of the most common places where Third Man Factor happens is accurately the top of a mountain.
Ben Affleck is, at the point of the movie, the oldest actor to play Bruce Wayne/Batman (he was 43). Christian Bale was 30 when he played Wayne for the first time in Batman Begins (2005). Michael Keaton and Adam West were both 38 when they played Wayne in Batman (1989) and Batman (1966), meanwhile Val Kilmer and George Clooney were both 36 in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), respectively.
The Russian mercenary that works for Lex Luthor is KG Beast, a villain who appeared in Batman's "Ten Nights of The Beast" story.
According to Batman-News, the suit of armor is outfitted with Kryptonite and packing firepower beyond raw strength (in this case, "missiles"). The details are claimed to be secondhand from Ben Affleck's trainer on the film, Rehan Jalali. That implies these details be taken with a grain of salt, but there has been prior evidence that Snyder would be turning to Kryptonite to help even the playing field, despite keeping it absent from Man of Steel (2013) entirely.
In the final battle Wonder Woman uses silver bracelets as weapon to attack Doomsday, sending a powerful energy wave. In the DC Comics, they are called Bracelets of Submission and Wonder Woman is capable of using them to deflect bullets from any automatic fire, project energy blasts and other projectile weaponry and to absorb forces from a long fall.
Though unseen, the Joker is alluded to several times in the movie. Examples include: Batman's line, "I've fought many clowns in my time" and in the building at the Gotham port where Batman and Superman conclude their fight, two pillars have the words "Joe" and "Ker" on them with an arrow pointing toward the centre of the room.
Perry drops another Easter egg on us when Lois is asking him to get her an Ubercopter to go cheer for her man. He tells her to forget the helipad and to set it down on the roof, obviously making a reference to Richard Donner's 1978 Superman the movie, where Lois has some issues with a helicopter taking off from the helipad.
Despite previous cinematic incarnations portrayed by Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey, where Lex Luthor was shown as a criminal mastermind wanted for justice, Luthor is now head of a complex corporate named Lex Corp. This reflects his portrayal in the 1987's Superman comic reboot, following the limited series "Crisis on Infinite Earths" published in 1985 (which restarted all DC Universe), where Lex Luthor is depicted as a powerful and wealthy businessman of his own company Lexcorp, who becomes obsessed with defeating Superman.
This is the first ever film in 3D to feature not just Batman, but Wonder Woman, Cyborg, The Flash and Aquaman. Superman's first 3D film was the story before this one, Man of Steel (2013) and Green Lantern had a 3D film in Green Lantern (2011) which is not connected to this DC film franchise.
Throughout most of the film, Lex Luthor is seen with longish hair, a direct contrast to his traditional bald headed appearance. However, by the end of the film, Luthor's hair had been shaved off, showing him as bald.