'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice': 6 EW exclusive photos

01 of 07

Batman and Superman square off for the first time

If you’re going toe-to-toe with the son of Jor-El, you better come correct. For his climactic rooftop brawl with Superman, Batman outfits himself with a reinforced mech-suit equipped with strength-augmenting armor and, yes, kryptonite. The design resembles the one used for the confrontation between these two in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

02 of 07

Mr. Wayne, meet Ms. Prince

Batman and Wonder Woman have a meeting of alter-egos as Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince parry and flirt at a high-society function. “I love the fact that there was this Thomas Crowne Affair, Bond-y sexy scene that they wrote about two people who are pretending to be two different people who each know the secrets of the other person,” says Ben Affleck.

03 of 07

Man, alien, or God?

Henry Cavill returns to reprise his role as Superman from Man of Steel, but this time the point-of-view has shifted. “I like to think that Man of Steel was the perspective of the world from Clark, Kal-El, looking at the world and trying to exist with in it,” says Cavill. “Batman v Superman is definitely more mankind’s perspective of Superman.”

04 of 07

The dark Dark Knight

The grit and gray of Man of Steel was both a continuation of the attempted realism of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy and a counterpoint to Marvel’s bright, zippy playtime. And that was before Zack Snyder ever got to Gotham. “It means that when it was supposed to look rainy and miserable, it had to be rainy and miserable,” says Affleck of the high chance of precipitation on set. “The long dark night of the soul and whatnot.”

05 of 07

Would you Friend this man?

Jesse Eisenberg builds on his experience from The Social Network to play a billionaire with even grander schemes: Lex Luthor. And while his version of the villain might be sporting luscious locks in this photo, you can rest assured that the movie will feature that iconic chrome dome.

06 of 07

The new Batman and his director

With Batman v Superman, the enormous chassis of Warner Bros.’ new franchise is just starting to reach liftoff, but Zack Snyder has already been working on the DC universe for nearly five years. “It’ll be five years by the time the movie comes out,” says Snyder “And then if everything goes to plan it’ll be another five years of Justice League. I’ll be 10 years of superheroes by the end of this.” A decade of this man’s life.

07 of 07