IMAX Aren't Calling Batman V Superman A Versus Movie

Is it all just spin?

There are a significant number of questions facing Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice already. For instance, is it Man Of Steel 2? Who is already dead? Who might the Joker actually be? Why is Batman's bat-logo morbidly obese? The most pertinent for a certain type of comic book fan is how much Batman and Superman will actually be versus each other. How much they'll actually fight, given that they're going to have to cram their friction, their suspicious reconciliation and all-out bromance AND their formation of the Justice League (in its earliest form) into less than two and a half hours of screen time. And that's not to mention the tens of other characters who are somehow involved... The answer may have been inadvertently suggested by IMAX at a presentation of their new IMAX with Laser technology at Leicester Square. During their presentation Dawn of Justice was referred to only as "Batman Superman" - no versus. Now, that might be no more than shorthand, but surely Batman V Superman was shorthand enough, and it could be indication that the film isn't what it's still being marketed as. There's long been some suspicion that the team-up was being rather cynically marketed to take advantage of iconic superhero lore that wasn't necessarily going to be a big part of the narrative (see also: Captain America Civil War), and the fact that it is at least partly being referred to internally without the V could well add fuel to those fires of suspicion. So, is the title no more than marketing spin? It certainly wouldn't be the first time it's happened, and it would fit with the idea that this was never a true versus movie in the first place. After all, the amalgamated logos that were the first tease of the film's announcement don't exactly shout divorce do they? Maybe don't expect to see the pair of superhero icons throwing down as a major part of proceedings... You can follow all of our Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice coverage here.
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