Batman v Superman With Christian Bale And Brandon Routh Looks Incredible

While The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel finally faced off against one another earlier this year in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, fan desire to see that battle take place has existed for many years. For as long as the World's Finest partnership has existed, comic book fans have loved the idea of them facing off against one another. One of the most intriguing versions of this face off is the hypothetical fight between Christian Bale's Batman, and Brandon Routh's Superman. While this fight never actually took place on the silver screen, a new fan trailer has debuted to show us what it might have looked like. Check it out below.

That fan trailer is a phenomenal example of what could have happened if cohesive superhero universes had started just a little bit sooner. Borrowing footage liberally from The Dark Knight trilogy, Superman Returns, and Dawn of Justice, the preview shows us a version of Batman V Superman fronted by the predecessors of Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. If you have seen Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, then you already have a pretty clear understanding as to how the whole thing plays out. Batman fears what Superman is capable of, Superman has to contend with the negative public perception of his exploits, and Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey in this version) is secretly plotting behind the scenes. The trailer even cuts Wonder Woman in on the action for a few awesome shots. All in all, it's pretty badass.

Right off the bat (pun very much intended) it's abundantly clear that quite a bit of love went into the creation of this trailer. It doesn't just feature footage from a bunch of different DC movies; the editor also manipulated many of the shots to insert brand new effects and characters into certain sequences. It's obviously a labor of love, and it most certainly paid off in the end.

There's one very important element that this trailer nails that Batman V Superman ultimately did not: tone. This preview offers a very dark version of Batman -- in keeping with what fans should generally expect -- but Routh's Superman feels endlessly more likeable than Cavill's. It's an important distinction to make, because (even though there's plenty of darkness) the trailer presents audiences with enough lightness that the fake film doesn't feel overbearing. Let's hope Zack Snyder takes a few pointers from this with his upcoming Justice League movie.

What do you think of this fan trailer? Do you consider it a tonal improvement over the real Batman V Superman, or do you prefer Zack Snyder's work? Let us know what you think in the comments section below! The DCEU Batman and Superman will reunite when Justice League hits theaters on November 17, 2017.