<P> In June 2013, Warner Bros. announced that director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer would return for a Man of Steel sequel, with the studio considering the release for the film in 2015 . The following month, Snyder confirmed at San Diego Comic - Con International that the sequel to Man of Steel would feature Superman and Batman meeting for the first time on film . Goyer and Snyder would co-write the story, with Goyer authoring the script, and Christopher Nolan involved in an advisory role as executive producer . According to Snyder, the film would take inspiration from the comic The Dark Knight Returns . </P> <P> In November 2013, Snyder clarified his film would not be based upon the aforementioned graphic novel . "If you were going to do that, you would need a different Superman . We're bringing Batman into the universe that now this Superman lives in ." Batman v Superman marks the first appearance of Wonder Woman in a live - action, theatrical film, which Warner Bros. had been developing as far back as 1996 . In December 2013, Chris Terrio was hired to rewrite the script, due to Goyer's commitments to other projects . Further commenting on the influences, Terrio revealed in an article published by the Wall Street Journal that the movie would draw inspiration from Nolan's Batman trilogy, Italian semiotician Umberto Eco's 1972 essay "The Myth of Superman", and the W.H. Auden poem "Musée des Beaux Arts" which contrasts the quotidian details of normal people's lives with the epic struggles of mythological figures . According to him, "In superhero stories, Batman is Pluto, god of the underworld, and Superman is Apollo, god of the sky . That began to be really interesting to me--that their conflict is not just due to manipulation, but their very existence ." The Joker and the Riddler were supposed to appear in the film, but Snyder ultimately decided to cut them from the final script . </P> <P> The film's official title, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was revealed in May 2014 . Snyder stated that having the "v" in the title instead of "vs ." was a way "to keep it from being a straight' versus' movie, even in the most subtle way". Henry Cavill later stated, "I wouldn't call this a Superman sequel (...) This is Batman versus Superman . It's a separate entity altogether . It's introducing the Batman character and expanding upon the universe, which was kicked off by Man of Steel ." Forbes noted that although the film originated as a sequel to Man of Steel, it was "revamped into a backdoor pilot for Justice League and / or an eventual stand - alone Batman movie ." As part of a settlement with his heirs, this is the first Batman production that lists Bill Finger as a co-creator . </P> <P> Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Harry Lennix and Christina Wren reprise their roles from Man of Steel . Joining the cast are Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Tao Okamoto as Luthor's assistant Mercy Graves . Scoot McNairy and Callan Mulvey were cast as Wallace Keefe and Anatoli Knyazev, while Jena Malone was cast as Jenet Klyburn, a character that was featured exclusively in the Ultimate Edition home media release . </P>

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