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Man of Steel landed in theaters in 2013 with Warner Bros. claiming it would be the start of their shared DC cinematic universe. The waiting game began to see which films would get announced next, which characters would be involved, and of course whether or not a new Batman would be cast. Not too long after, the studio revealed their next project was Batman v Superman, with Ben Affleck set to don the cape and cowl. Rumblings began within the fan community questioning the move, wondering if it wasn’t too soon, and if meant a true Superman sequel wasn’t in the cards. Many assumed BvS was a well guarded plan that had been set in place all along, and when the rest of the film’s ensemble cast was announced — Wonder Woman and cameos from Aquaman, Cyborg, and Flash — it seemed as though those assumptions had been affirmed. According to Russell Crowe, that may not have been the case.
Talking to Digital Spy about his upcoming film, The Nice Guys, Crowe revealed the reason behind his absence in Batman v Superman as Jor-El. In turn, he also shed light on there initially being more Man of Steel sequels in play, prior to the decision to have Bats and the Boy Scout duke it out on the big screen.
“I think once they made the decision because originally — I could be completely wrong — there was a number of Superman movies,” said Russell Crowe . “But I think they made the decision to jump past those and go to the idea of Batman and Superman in the same film. So, no, I didn’t have any discussions about that.”
Superman fans are still displeased the last son of Krypton didn’t get another chance to shine before going head to head with the Bat. A disappointment highlighted by having his character suffer through the seemingly rushed consequences of a certain fight at the end of the film. Those consequences would have certainly carried more emotional resonance had Superman been more fleshed out, as Russell Crowe claims he might have been.
This news will likely add another notch to the ever growing criticism of Batman v Superman, but at least Frank Miller enjoyed the experience. Audiences will get to experience it again, once the film’s home release hits store shelves this summer.
Image: Warner Bros.
