If you saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice over the weekend and are now looking forward to Justice League, you may be wondering what to expect from the DC superhero team-up. Well, Zack Snyder has shared some info on the follow-up, which begins shooting on April 11 with the first of the two-part blockbuster arriving in November 2017.

Snyder also clarified the significance of the big death at the end of Batman v Superman, as well as the reason one iconic DC character made such a brief appearance (but will be seen more in the R-rated cut). Plus, find out who Michael Shannon and Tom Hiddleston pick to win the titular showdown.

SPOILER WARNING if you haven't seen Batman v Superman.

Justice League

Similar to how the events of Batman v Superman happen mostly in response to the end of Man of Steel, Justice League will apparently jump off from the end of Batman v Superman. Snyder told Entertainment Weekly that Superman had to die in Batman v Superman in order to better set up the Justice League, as it's necessary for Superman to be absent at first. 

“I wanted Bruce Wayne to build the Justice League,” Snyder tells EW. “I felt like with Superman around, it’s a different conversation when you create the Justice League, right? It’s like, ‘Me and Superman, we want to make a Justice League.’ [Other heroes would be] like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll join!’ I just feel like Bruce Wayne having to go out and find these seven samurai by himself, that’s a lot more interesting of a premise.”

It also forces Bruce Wayne to put his detective skills to work as he and Wonder Woman set out to find Aquaman, the Flash, Cyborg and the others. “I also I felt like, without Superman, there is definitely a vulnerability to the team that they’re gonna need to figure something out, you know? Superman does represent the powerful. He’s the Michael Jordan of heroes, he’s gonna score.”
 

Jimmy Olsen

image: DC Comics

One of the most familiar characters in the Superman comics and the DC Universe overall, Jimmy Olsen is typically a staple of the movies, too. But he wasn't in Man of Steel and now he's only in one scene in Batman v Superman as the unnamed photographer (played by Michael Cassidy) with Lois Lane in Africa. And he's immediately killed off!

The character is identified by the credits, and Snyder told Entertainment Weekly that he will be named on-screen and gets a lot more time in the three-hour R-rated "Ultimate Cut" that will be found on the home video release, which drops on July 16. As for his being disposed of in the DC extended universe, Snyder addresses that:

“We just did it as this little aside because we had been tracking where we thought the movies were gonna go, and we don’t have room for Jimmy Olsen in our big pantheon of characters, but we can have fun with him, right?”

Not only did Snyder wind up "softening the blow" of the otherwise shocking death by not naming Olsen on-screen in the theatrical version, but he also wound up changing his mind about casting a big name in the role to make it more of a Psycho-type twist. Originally, Jesse Eisenberg was considered for Olsen, as Snyder revealed:

“I thought, if it were Jesse Eisenberg and he got out and he goes, ‘I’m Jimmy Olsen,’ you’d be like, oh my God, we’re gonna have Jimmy Olsen in the whole movie, right?’” Snyder says. “And then if he got shot, you’d just be like, ‘What!? You can’t do that.’”

Michael Shannon on Batman vs. Superman

Vulture asked a bunch of famous actors and comic book artists and writers to weigh in on the Batman and Superman fight. Captain America: Civil War star Sebastian Stan noted that Batman would only last longer than he should because they copied the Iron Man Hulkbuster suit. And fellow MCU actor Tom Hiddleston agreed that Superman would more likely be the champion.

Alan Cumming, who appeared in the X-Men movies, and Man of Steel villain Michael Shannon both said they just don't care. Of course, Shannon's response is more significant because his likeness is also featured in Batman v Superman. His amusing quote, acknowledging his role as General Zod, with a brief follow-up question and answer:

I’m so utterly unconcerned with the outcome of that fight. So profoundly, utterly unconcerned. I can’t even come up with a fake answer. I guess I have to root for Superman because he killed me, so I would hope that he would continue his killing spree and become like a serial killer Superman. That’s a new take on Superman. We’d all be in a heap of trouble if Superman was a serial killer. He could just wipe us all out. But then he’d be lonely.

Isn’t he already lonely?
Well, we’re all lonely.