10 Genuine Lessons Batman V Superman Can Learn From Batman & Robin

3. Respect What Came Before

The Mistake Batman And Robin Made: There's a fan theory that both of Joel Schumacher's Batman flicks are actually movies in the Tim Burton world; cheap family films made once Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne reveals all about his alter ego. This not only shows just how extreme the distaste with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin is, but also how out of sync with the earlier movies they are - they bear so little resemblance to the movies that kicked it all off. But the disrespect doesn't end there - even though Schumacher had Adam West's take in his cross-hairs, he totally misread the TV show, missing all the tongue-in-cheek humour. Will Dawn Of Justice Learn The Lesson? This applies to Batman V Superman on two levels. Firstly, as it's building on it, the film needs to at least acknowledge Man Of Steel. The Superman reboot under-performed in all corners, and with an almost three year gap between it and the sequel-cum-franchise expansion it'd be easy to treat Dawn Of Justice as a soft reboot. Which, while good for the movie, would be a big mistake for the DC Cinematic Universe going forward, betraying a make-it-up-as-you-go attitude. The other is more contextual, but no less important. The Dark Knight Trilogy brought Batman to a hitherto unprecedented level of popularity (which given his ever-present history is really saying something). With Dawn Of Justice coming only four years after The Dark Knight Rises, there's the risk of seeming like a cynical money-grab, or otherwise treading over old ground. Thankfully, a much older, and thus different Bruce Wayne, has the potential to avoid that.