Below is the first official teaser for next year’s epic film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As we all know this was supposed to come out next week, but some moron leaked today a really piss poor copy of this trailer, thus forcing Warner Bros./DC’s hand. It’s too bad they had to rush it out, but at least it makes us forget that limp teaser of a teaser shown yesterday that just showed the Superman and Batman costumes!

As a trailer it sells its point, but for some reason the pervading tone of the movie seems dark, not a bad thing, mind you. Just different from what we’ve been getting lately from Marvel (aside from the TV show Daredevil). But will the dark tone jibe with today’s fans? This mood was in vogue just a few years ago, especially when The Dark Knight was all the rage and fans have had bad to mixed reactions to the reboot of The Fantastic Four coming this summer for its bleak outlook based on its own teaser. So some may think this dark take of superheroes is outdated.

Nevertheless, this film won’t bomb. There are too many fans invested and the buzz is high. And its dourness helps sell the film’s motif that Superman is being mistrusted by the general public. It’s a refreshing direction to take with Superman and adds a touch of realism because let’s face it, in real life this fear of a super-powered alien among us would probably be the pervading attitude.

As for Batman, it seems as if director Zack Snyder is channeling Frank Miller’s seminal work The Dark Knight Returns and that by itself is great. It’s hard to judge Ben Affleck as an older Bruce Wayne, because we all got was one shot of him with a brooding look. But the shots of him as Batman and the Batmobile should satisfy most fans. Putting aside Ben Affleck and the new shots of Henry Cavill as Superman, honestly, the final moments of this trailer when it concludes with Superman and Batman about to face off with each other were the most scintillating parts.

This was a great week for trailers with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Ant-Man, but this one for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a perfect capper!

Lewis T. Grove