The concept of 'shared movie universes' has taken studios by storm in the past few years, and nowhere is it more evident (and bankable) than with superheroes. While Marvel have successfully linked their movie universe with various TV efforts like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Warner Bros. and DC have elected to keep their movie universes separate, but that doesn't mean they don't like to keep an eye on each other...
Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder revealed his love for DC's TV shows while speaking on the Hall of Justice podcast: "The bottom line for me is: I have 100% respect and love what they’re doing on TV. I think it’s amazing… and it speaks to the iconographic nature of these characters – these characters are bigger than any of the actors that are playing them.
"So that’s the thing that I’ve embraced, and as opposed to just trying to shoehorn all these story lines into a single universe, we let the characters exist in multi-universe, and therefore it’s a lot more fun and it’s a lot more value for the audience.
"They get to see their favorite and most beloved characters on different adventures at the same time, in different universes", Snyder continued. "And it really makes the meal a lot richer and a lot more fun. And I think that’s really the joy of what we’re trying to do over here at DC."
Snyder has some very valid points here; if DC's movie and TV universes were linked then excellent superhero shows like The Flash wouldn't exist. This way we get to have the best of both worlds, and it also makes it easier for small screen TV crossovers between shows like The Flash and Supergirl to happen. With the speedster's dimension-hopping abilities, who's to say that we won't eventually see Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller on screen at the same time?
Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will arrive in UK and US cinemas on March 25, 2016.
Images: Warner Bros./CW
