Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: See the First Pic of Henry Cavill in Costume as the Man of Steel!

Actor will reprise his role as the DC Comics character opposite Ben Affleck

By Zach Johnson Jul 03, 2014 1:23 PMTags
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Is it May 6, 2016 yet?

The first picture of Henry Cavill as Superman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was released Thursday, nearly two months after director Zack Snyder tweeted the first look of Ben Affleck as Batman.

The photo, which first appeared in USA Today, shows the hero wearing his signature blue suit and red cape. Developing the character— both as Clark Kent and as Superman—is a challenge, Snyder tells the newpspaper, but there's also "the fun of trying to figure out what to put in front of him that's difficult."

According to Snyder, Cavill is more comfortable playing the iconic character in this movie. "We've both created this guy and we can push him around a little bit," says the director, who cast Cavill to play the lead role in 2013's Man of Steel. "The more time I spend with Henry, the more he's Superman to me."

Many wondered why Snyder would add another well-known character to the sequel. He understands the worry. Because of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, he says, "I was in no rush to put Batman in the movie. But on the other hand it seemed organic the way our story was unfolding to start to feather him in." The director can't say exactly how the relationship between the superheroes evolves, "but suffice it to say there is a 'v' in between their names" in the movie title, Snyder says. Having the "v" instead of "vs." is a way "to keep it from being a straight 'versus' movie, even in the most subtle way."

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is currently filming in Detroit, although Cavill and Affleck have only filmed a few scenes together with Snyder. "It's never really been done and it's kinda cool," he admits.

Gal Gadot, who plays Wonder Woman, hasn't shot any scenes yet. That doesn't mean she's taking it easy, though. "She's working out and getting buff and ripped," Snyder, 48, tells USA Today of Gadot, 29.

Like Snyder, both Cavill, 31, and Affleck, 41, realize the magnitude of the movie.

"You can talk all you want about other superhero movies, but it's Batman and Superman, let's just be honest," the filmmaker says of the DC Comics characters. "I don't know how you get bigger than that."

The movie also stars Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons and Diane Lane.