Zack Snyder Wanted 'Batman V Superman' To Be Called 'Son Of Sun And Knight Of Night'
Many people dunked on the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice title when it was first revealed to the public, and even co-writer Chris Terrio recently made it clear that he definitely did not want that title to be used. But after hearing the ideas that Terrio and director Zack Snyder were putting forth at the time as alternate suggestions, maybe Dawn of Justice wasn't so bad after all.
During an interview at Justice Con this past weekend (via ComingSoon), Snyder and Terrio confirmed that Warner Bros. ultimately chose the title for their superhero sequel, despite the two of them pushing for something "a little bit more poetic" instead.
"I remember when there was a back-and-forth that I had with the studio, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was like the only title that [Warner Bros. liked]," Snyder explained. "The whole 'v' instead of 'versus,' it was like this crazy negotiation. I was like, 'Guys, can't we just do something like Son of Sun and Knight of Night, or something that's a little bit more poetic?' And they were like, 'Absolutely not' [Laughs]. I was like, 'Is it a court case?'"
Terrio then revealed that there were discussions about using titles like Justice League: Foundations or Justice League: Rising "to suggest that this movie was going to be the beginning of the Justice League, even though it didn't really look like it."
One thing is especially clear: Chris Terrio is not a fan of the 2016 movie's existing title. "I did not name the script," he told Vanity Fair earlier this month. "In fact, I found out what the movie was called along with the rest of the world on the internet. I was not consulted on the title of the film, and I was as surprised as anyone. I would not have named it Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I don't know exactly who named it, but I suspect it was the studio and I suspect it was marketing, to be honest with you. It might have been the first step toward creating ill will for the film...I heard it and I thought, it just sounds self-important and clueless in a way. Tone-deaf. The intention of the film was to do something interesting and dark and complex, not quite as Las Vegas, bust 'em up, WWE match as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
Feel free to debate among yourselves whether Son of Sun and Knight of Night meets that criteria, and/or is a better title than the one we eventually got.