“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”

Ladies and gentlemen, two years out from its release date, at least we can take comfort in the fact that the title is awesome.

It’s common knowledge that the Man of Steel sequel will take super leaps and bounds towards a Justice League movie. Add in the fact that there will be an epic battle between arguably the two biggest superheroes of all-time and the potential for this film is becoming increasingly limitless.

Still, there are a few questions that remain/should be asked:

• Will Ben Affleck succeed as the guardian of Gotham? After Christian Bale’s masterful performance (and throw Christopher Nolan’s vision and expertise into that mix as well), all things Batman will be scrutinized. Quite frankly, after The Dark Knight trilogy, it should be. Playing this character is tricky because if an actor cannot make an audience believe they really are a dedicated and skillful crime-fighting force in an adult bat costume, while also gallivanting as a billionaire playboy in modern day Gotham City, well, then that universe falls apart in a hurry (remember George Clooney and Val Kilmer?). As we watch his portrayal on the silver screen, we’ll find out quickly what truly motivated this controversial casting decision.

• Why not give Superman a second movie by himself to battle with Lex Luthor and a surprise villain, in which Wonder Woman and/or Batman could be teased at the end of the sequel? Man of Steel was a gritty, realistic (for a superhero movie) story of how an alien adapted to his adopted planet, adopted parents and adopted citizens with his evolving super powers. It was an origin story. Consequently, this warranted only one scene of vintage Clark Kent flirting with Lois Lane. Shouldn’t fans get a full movie of Superman battling an enemy/enemies on Earth as a newly declared human within Metropolis with Lois Lane close by? Trust me, Superman can carry a movie by himself. Just judging by the title, a little patience would have been nice…

• Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? If he can duplicate his performance from The Social Network, he could shine as the digitally-deft villain from the Millennial generation. Like Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Terence Stamp, Gene Hackman is forever treasured as an icon in the Superman cinematic universe. Fans will and should compare the performances of the aforementioned actors and actress from the 1978 classic to today’s portrayals. Like the Ben Affleck casting, the Eisenberg choice will go either really well or really badly. Quick question, was Billy Zane considered for Lex Luthor? Actually, that not a quick question, that’s a very serious question.

• Will Wonder Woman get a worthy and well-deserved character introduction with a background story or will she be introduced as more of a super sidekick? This is a powerful moment for a female superhero to shine in the spotlight for multiple generations of women and girls to see and relate to. Are they crowding the Justice pool with too many characters too quickly? Does Wonder Woman deserve an origin story?

The expectations will be super (pun intended) around this time in 2016 for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Will this movie do the modern superhero story and its beloved characters justice by soaring to new cinematic heights?

Either way, it seems fitting to put our hope in the man of steel.